


Strange Conversations 2

by JoMo3



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-06-13 21:31:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15373746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMo3/pseuds/JoMo3
Summary: The Gate's closed, and it's time for the Party to get back to their lives. Will mostly be Mileven-centric, though other relationships will come up as well.Begins right after the gate gets closed.





	1. Nothing About This is Okay

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read my Strange Conversations series from before, you don't need to in order to understand this. I take quotes from the show and use it sort of as a guide. This series/work will be with quotes from Stranger Things 2.

_I don’t! I don’t understand!_

_That’s fine, that’s fine. Just do not blame her, alright? She’s upset enough as it is._

_I don’t blame her, I blame you! I blame you!_

_That’s okay, kid. That’s okay._

_No! Nothing about this is okay! Nothing about this is okay! You’re a stupid, disgusting, liar, you piece of shit!_

 

Mike was pacing, back and forth, in the Byers’ living room.

 _Where were they?_ Or, more specifically, where was _she?_

He and his friends-Dustin and Lucas-and people he didn’t necessarily see as friends yet-Max and Steve-had gotten back to the house nearly twenty minutes ago and found it empty. The syringe that’d been in Billy’s neck now lay on the floor; the young man himself, nowhere to be seen.

Max had gotten the nailed bat from Steve, just in case he came back.

No one was sure what to do yet; so Mike paced while Dustin watched him, nervously. Lucas and Max sat at the table in the kitchen, while Steve was attempting to fix the telephone that’d been ripped from the wall.

“Mike, just stop,” Dustin said. “They’re coming back.”

Mike, still pacing, shook his head. “You weren’t there, Dustin.”

“Yeah, well, I was there in the caves. If we got out, she can get out, too.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know she has powers. And Hopper’s with her.”

Mike stopped, and ran a hand through his hair. He knew Dustin was right, but they’d _barely_ survived the tunnels. And if all of those demodogs were running to the gate, would Eleven have been able to take them on as well as the Mind Flayer?

His head jerked up suddenly as a set of headlights illuminated the room, and in a second he was rushing to the door, Dustin right behind him.

He paused, momentarily, as he saw it was Jonathan’s car. He watched as Jonathan got out first, then Nancy from the passenger side.

Nancy’s eyes took in her brother, and she asked, “What happened to you?”

Mike looked down at his dirty clothes, then back at his sister. “Uh, we..”

“Jesus,” Steve said from behind him, as he came outside. “You guys look like you’ve been in a sauna or something.”

“Something like that,” Nancy said.

The doors of the backseat opened, and Mike watched as Will took a step out, followed by Mrs. Byers on the other side.

“Will!” Mike said, rushing over and wrapping his friend in a hug. Dustin followed suit, and a moment later Lucas was there, too, as the group enveloped their friend.

“Guys, guys, I’m okay,” Will said, chuckling as they let go.

“No more spy?” Mike asked.

Will shook his head. “No more spy. I’m just...tired.” He looked at his friends. “Where’ve you guys been?”

Lucas glanced at the adults, then answered with “We had our own mission to do.”

“But it doesn’t matter,” Mike said. “You’re okay now.”

Will smiled, and nodded his head.

 

The group went inside. Steve finished fixing up the phone, while everyone else worked on cleaning up the mess in the house. Will sat on the couch, dazed but still himself. After a while, Mike noticed Mrs. Byers standing near the broken window, looking around.

“Where is it?” she asked.

“Where’s what?” asked Dustin.

“That...that _thing_. The...dema...whatever. Where’d it go?”

Mike and Dustin’s eyes met. “It’s, uh…” Dustin began.

There was a sudden scream from the kitchen, and Dustin rolled his eyes.

Mike, Dustin, Joyce, and Will all made their way to the kitchen, where Nancy was slowly backing up from the refrigerator, a look of fear on her face.

“Nancy?” Joyce asked. She gazed into the fridge, then, seeing the dead beast inside, slammed it shut. “ _Who_?” she demanded.

All eyes turned to Dustin.

“We need to study it!” he cried. “For scientific purposes!”

“No, we are getting _rid_ of it,” Joyce said.

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” Steve offered.

Joyce gave him a look, and he shrugged. Holding up the phone receiver, he said “Phone’s fixed.”

“Good,” Joyce said. “You kids need to call your parents, tell them you’re going home.”

“But…” Lucas began.

“We don’t…” Dustin said.

“ _I’ll_ call,” Max said. “My mom’s not used to this stuff.” She walked to Steve and took the phone from his hand.

“I’m not going,” Mike told Joyce. When she gave him a look, he said, “Eleven. I’m waiting for her to come back.”

“Mike, they’re probably going back to the cabin,” Nancy said.

“And besides,” Joyce said, “It’s late. You need to…”

“Hey, guys?” Lucas said.

They all turned. He was looking outside, and Mike felt his heart beat faster as another pair of headlights, this one belonging to Chief Hopper’s Jeep, made its way up the hill to the house.

Mike practically yanked the front door off its hinges as he rushed outside. Hopper was already out, and put up a hand, signaling for Mike to stop.

“Is she alright? Is she….” Mike began.

“She’s fine,” Hopper answered, making his way to the passenger side where Mike stood. Peering in, Mike could see a barely conscious Eleven, slumped in her seat.

“What’s wrong with her?” he asked.

Pushing Mike aside, Hopper opened the door, answering “She’s just exhausted, kid. Give her some space.” He picked up Eleven, and, holding her in his arms, headed into the house. Mike was right on his heels.

Joyce met them at the door, and looked at Eleven, a frown coming to her face. “Is she okay?”

“She’s tired,” Hopper said. “Do you mind if she crashes here tonight?”

“Of course not,” Joyce said, shaking her head. Behind her, Lucas, Will, and Dustin were trying to get a look at the still girl.

Hopper put her gently onto the couch, causing El to slowly open her eyes.

“El!” Mike said, rushing over. Kneeling next to the couch, he talked quietly to her as Hopper took a step back.

“Are you okay?” Mike asked her.

She nodded, a slow smile coming to her face. “Are you?”

He nodded, a smile coming to his own face. “I’m glad you’re okay, El.”

“You, too.” She yawned, and her eyes began to flutter close.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” Mike assured her. “I promise.” She appeared to nod, and then she was asleep.

Mike stood, and turned to Hopper, a look of determination on his face. “I’m staying here,” he said. “She…”

“Okay, kid” Hopper said, putting his hands up. “Okay.”

Mike nodded, and Hopper turned around to Joyce. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “I didn’t mean to inconvenience you or…”

“No, that’s fine,” she told him.

“It’s just your house was closer, and I needed somewhere to…”

“Hop,” she said, touching his arm and getting him to stop. “It’s fine. Besides, you look like you’re about to keel over yourself. Sit down.”

Hopper nodded, and slowly sank into a chair, rubbing his face once he was comfortable.

 

The next two hours were spent cleaning the house and deciding who was leaving and who was staying. Joyce decided they’d deal with the dead demodog when Hopper woke up; the big man had fallen asleep almost as soon as he’d sat down. Will went to his room soon after, and nearly everyone else piled into Jonathan’s car: Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy climbed into his Ford LTD. Steve was offered a ride, but perhaps out of the awkwardness of riding around with his (probably) ex-girlfriend and her new beau, he declined, saying he’d walk. Jonathan would be coming back, as would Nancy, after the Party was dropped off.

Before he left, Steve picked up Eleven, a girl he’d never knew existed, and carried her into Joyce’s bedroom. Joyce would be bunking with Will for the night, still not ready to let him out of her sight. That left Mike on the couch.

“Your mom knows where you are, right?” Joyce asked Mike as she brought him a blanket.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding as he took his shoes off. Nancy had called home with some excuse as to why the two Wheeler kids would be staying at the Byers home.

Putting a blanket over Hopper, Joyce turned to see Mike glancing towards the hallway.

“She’s fine,” she told Mike. “She isn’t going anywhere.”

Mike nodded, pulling his legs onto the couch.

“Goodnight,” Joyce said, turning off the last lamp as she left the room.

“Goodnight,” Mike mumbled back.

 

As he pulled the blanket up to his neck, Mike turned to his side. He was _exhausted_. And yet, he couldn’t sleep. Just knowing that Eleven was nearby, just a few feet away…

He wanted to sleep in the room with her. Not necessarily on the bed or anything, he would’ve slept on the floor, no problem. But Mrs. Byers had said no, and so he’d stayed out here. He looked over at the chair where Hopper slept, the big man’s head leaned back as soft snores came from him.

Mike was still mad at him. _A year?! He’d kept her hidden for a year??!!_ All of the times he’d seen Hopper around town, or at the Byers’ house, he’d never given it any kind of thought that the man could be hiding Eleven. Hopper and El had had barely any interaction last year, and now they almost appeared to be father and daughter. Mike had cooled down some since he’d yelled at Hopper, but this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

_Mike?_

He sat up, looking around the room. He thought he heard El’s voice. “El?” he asked quietly.

 _Mike_.

There it was again. A soft voice saying his name. He pulled off the cover and got off the couch, wandering down the hall. The house was dark, but he’d been at the Byers’ home enough times to know his way around in the dark. Eventually he got to the hallway, and he saw Mrs. Byers’ door cracked, and a pair of eyes looking out into the hall. When their eyes met, he walked faster and the door opened, as El met him halfway, the two hugging each other.

“I thought you left,” she said, her head on his shoulder.

“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “I’m not leaving you, El.”

She sniffled, and the two pulled away, but remained close.

“How are you?” he asked her.

She nodded. “Okay. Tired.”

He smiled, still in disbelief that she was here. He must have been gawking, because he saw a small blush come to her cheeks ( _she blushed!_ ) as she looked away.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “Um...I’ll let you go back to sleep. I’m...I’m right out here, if you…”

But she tugged on his hand, pulling him towards the bedroom. He hesitated for a second, then allowed himself to be pulled inside. She made her way to the bed, and sat legs crossed, and he joined her.

“What happened?” he finally asked her.

She raised her eyebrows, confused.

“With...with the gate and everything.”

“I closed it,” she said, scratching her face. She stopped, and pulled her hand away, seeing the dried blood near her ear. Her eyes went to Mike’s, and he was surprised that she looked embarrassed, looking down.

“It’s okay, El,” he said, shaking his head.

“It hurt,” she said, her eyes looking back into his.

“What did?”

“Closing the gate,” she clarified.

He nodded. He remembered last year, when she’d gotten rid of the Demogorgon, and how pale she’d looked as well as the blood coming from her nose and ears. It looked like the same thing had happened today, as he saw dried blood on her face.

“Well...are you okay now?”

She nodded, letting a smile come to her face. “Now that you’re here. Yes.”

Now _he_ blushed, as he looked away for a moment. Turning back, he asked, “El. Where have you been all this time?”

“With Hopper,” she told him.

“Yeah, I know,” he said, “But _where_?”

“The woods.”

“All this time?” She nodded.

Mike shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe it. All this time...I knew you were out there, somewhere. But why didn’t Hopper tell me?” The question was more to himself than to El.

Still, she answered, saying “He was trying to keep you safe.”

Mike smirked. “He told me he was trying to keep _you_ safe.”

“When?”

“When I…” he paused, reliving the conversation he’d had with Hopper hours ago, pummeling the big man before he’d started crying in his arms. “When we talked.”

She nodded, knowing what he meant.

“So you really heard me? All those times I called you?”

She smiled. “353 days.”

He smiled back. “What…”

There was a sound outside, and Eleven immediately sat up, eyes wide as she looked towards the door.

“Hold on,” Mike said, getting up. He opened the door a crack, and saw Jonathan and Nancy entering the house. They talked low to each other, then both went into Jonathan’s room.

Mike made a face. _Was his sister with Jonathan now?_

Shaking his head, he closed the door and turned back to the bed, where Eleven sat. “It’s just Jonathan and Nancy,” he explained.

She nodded, her fears alleviated.

He sat across from her, and noticed she appeared to be looking him over. He glanced down at his dirty clothes, and knew what was coming.

“You’re dirty,” she said, touching his jeans leg.

“Yeah. We, uh...we had something to do.”

She furrowed her brow. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, El,” he said, looking away.

“ _Mike_ ,” she said, which got him looking back at her. “Tell me.”

“We...Lucas, Dustin, Steve, Max and I, we...we went to the tunnels.”

“Why?”

“We wanted to help. We wanted to get the demadogs away from you, give you time to close the gate.”

Realization seemed to hit her, as her eyes widened. “That wasn’t safe, Mike!”

“I know, I know. But we had to help you, El. We couldn’t just sit here and do nothing.”

She frantically looked him over. “Are you hurt? Are you…”

“I’m okay,” he said, smiling. “Really. I’m okay.”

She sighed, and seemed to accept that.

“You talk more,” he noticed.

She blushed again ( _he didn’t think he’d ever get sick of how cute her blush was_ ). “Yes. He...Hopper helped me.”

“I...I missed your voice,” he said quietly.

She smiled. “I missed yours, too.”

They just smiled at each other for a moment, until Mike could feel himself begin to blush. “”Um…” he said, looking down, “What’s it been like? I mean, what have you been doing while you’ve been gone?”

So she began telling him about the past year; hiding in the woods, Hopper finding her, and her time in the cabin. She told him how she would listen to him, and visit him in the Void sometimes, and how much it made her miss him.

“Hopper wouldn’t let me see you,” she said, shaking her head. “I got mad at him.”

“You did?”

She nodded. “I...threw a book at him.”

“You what?”

“I left the cabin, and...saw you at school. Hopper got mad that I left, and...grounded me.”

“You got grounded?” he asked, surprised.

She nodded. “He took away the TV and my Eggo’s. So...I threw a book at him, and...hit him with the couch.”

Mike laughed, which got Eleven laughing, too. When they’d settled down, he asked, “You came to my school?”

She nodded.

“Did you...did you come to the gym? And see me with Max?”

Her face got angry for a second, and she nodded.

“I _knew_ you were there,” he said excitedly. “I knew she didn’t just...wait a minute. You made her fall, didn’t you?”

She looked away, giving him his answer. “El, she could’ve gotten hurt.” She didn’t respond, and he didn’t push the matter. “Why didn’t you stay? Why didn’t...why’d you leave so fast?”

She yawned. “I knew Hopper would be back. And...I thought maybe you...didn’t want to see me.”

He looked confused. “Because of Max?” She nodded, and he said “Lucas and Dustin like Max. I don’t like her. Well, I mean...not like _that_.”

She seemed to understand, and gave him a small smile.

Mike turned, and looked at the bedside clock. They’d been up and talking for a little over two hours. “Um...we should go to sleep,” he said, slowly getting off the bed. Once again, he found his hand being held by hers.

“Stay?” she asked.

He nodded, and sat back down. Mike watched as Eleven began to get under the sheets, letting out another yawn in the process. He couldn’t help but smile, beyond happy that she was back. But part of him wondered what would happen now. Was she safe? Was she going to have to hide again?

He decided, for now, to just enjoy the moment and leave those thoughts for another day.

She saw him smiling at her, and raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just...I’m so glad you’re back, El.”

“Me too,” she said, sitting up. Getting out from under the covers, she wrapped him in a hug, one that he was more than happy to return.

When they pulled apart, her arms were still on his shoulders, and he saw her looking at his lips. He knew he was doing the same, and a moment later they both leaned in, their lips meeting halfway. It felt like electricity surged through his body as he put his hand on her cheek. While their last kiss had been quick and fast, this one was different, but _good_ different, Mike thought to himself as he gently kissed her back. He’d felt the last kiss had been one-sided; but now, knowing that she was kissing him back, made this one all the more special.

He hoped they’d get the chance to do this again.

She pulled away after what seemed like a blissful eternity, but was probably just a few seconds, and smiled shyly at him.

He smiled back, and they let go of each other as she got under the covers. Mike stayed on top of them, but the two faced each other.

“Goodnight, Mike,” she said softly, her eyes closing.

“Night, El,” he said, watching her with a dopey grin.

 

Joyce was the first to wake the next morning, and the first thing she did was to check on Eleven. She was surprised, but not _too_ surprised, to see Mike sleeping next to her, both of them out cold.

Next she went to Jonathan’s room, and was _definitely_ surprised to see Nancy asleep in her son’s bed, right next to him. As she closed the door on the two, she reminded herself to make sure she brought that up.

Finally she went into the front room, where Hopper still slept, his head back. As she went to start making coffee, she heard a snort, then a cough, as Hopper awoke. She watched him blink himself awake and look around the room.

His eyes meeting her, he rubbed his face and asked, “Where’s the kid?”

“Which one?”

“Wheeler.”

Joyce smiled. “Where do you think?”

Hopper closed his eyes and sighed. “Dear Lord.” Slowly, he began to stand. “That kid…”

“Let them sleep, Hop,” she said. “They’ve been through enough. Just let them sleep.”

He sighed again, and reluctantly nodded as he sat at the table.

The coffee made, she poured two cups and brought them to the table as she joined him.

“So is it over?” she asked him.

“Is what over?”

“This whole thing. The gate, all the issues with Will. Is it over?”

Hopper nodded. “It should be.” Joyce sighed, then chuckled. “What?” Hopper asked.

“It’s nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “I didn’t realize it was a school day. Usually we’d all be up getting ready. But now…”

“Now?”

She smiled. “Will is back, and Jonathan...Jonathan’s in there with _Nancy_.”

Hopper whistled. “And I’ve got a teenage daughter I’ve got to get off her boyfriend.”

Joyce smiled. “Well, I’ve got you beat. Guess what’s in the fridge?”

“What?”

“Go ahead and look,” she said, pointing towards the fridge with her mug.

Hopper stood, walked over to the refrigerator, and opened it up. He let out a semi-loud swear word that got Joyce giggling before he closed the door. Looking back at her, Hopper asked, “How did _that_ happen?”

“Dustin,” was all she said.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Hopper said, sitting back down.

The two sat and talked for a while, making it almost seem like a normal morning. But they knew that with everything that’d happened the night before, as well as what was inside the refrigerator, that it was anything but. But just for a few moments, they let themselves enjoy the normalness of having a cup of coffee.


	2. Give it a Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much Eleven & Hopper. More Mileven next chapter.

_ Still, I’d let things cool off for awhile if I were you. _

_ How long’s a while? _

_ Wanna be safe? I’d give it a year. _

 

January

 

The phone rang, and Eleven jumped from the table, trying to make sure she answered it before Hopper.

“Hello?” she asked once she’d picked up the receiver, although she already knew who it was.

“Hey, El. It’s me,” came a familiar voice.

She smiled. “Hi, Mike.”

“Hi. What’d you do today?”

“Just watched my soaps,” she said, observing Hopper, who was rolling his eyes. “How was school?”

“Boring,” Mike answered, chuckling. “Well, not  _ too _ boring, I guess. We got to do this really cool experiment in science today.”

“How’d you do it?”

So Mike went on to explain the experiment they’d conducted, although honestly, Eleven barely understood it. But she didn’t care, because she was just happy she got to talk to Mike. When he finished,  _ she _ went on to tell him about the latest drama that’d occured on  _ General Hospital _ , though to be honest, Mike got confused halfway into it. But he, like her, didn’t care; he was talking to his favorite person in the world.

 

It was a month after the Snowball, and the two hadn’t seen each other since that night. At Christmas, both had hoped Hopper would ease up on his re-hiding rules, but he hadn’t. Still, they’d exchanged gifts. Mike had wrapped a Supercom that he’d dropped off at the station; and Eleven had gotten Mike a comic book that she thought he might like.

But Eleven had worn down the first set of batteries by New Years Day. So Hopper eventually came around and installed a telephone at the cabin. Now, instead of hearing her talk quietly to Mike in her bedroom with the walkie every night, he got a front row seat when she talked to him in the kitchen.

Of course he had rules to go with the new phone; for now, only Joyce and Mike had the number. Mike was only to call at a certain time-around 8, when (usually) Hop and El would be finishing their dinner. At first he’d tried to limit their chats to twenty minutes, but then found out the two apparently couldn’t fit their conversation to that time span. So, currently, they had up to 45 minutes. And although they talked on an almost nightly basis, Hopper would still hear El whispering to Mike on her walkie pretty much every night.

They were kind of cute, Hopper had to admit.

Telling Eleven she had to hide  _ again _ had definitely not been easy. Still, she’d come to accept it, even if she did have her fits from time to time. And Hopper felt so bad about it, and after he’d seen how much it’d hurt the two to be separated for so long, he was doing his best to be patient with his surrogate daughter and her sort-of-boyfriend.

But every man has his limits, even Jim Hopper.

Tonight it came about almost fifteen minutes into their phone conversation. El hadn’t finished her dinner when Mike had called, and not only was her food getting cold, but there was a fly that seemed to have taken interest in her peas (not that she’d mind). When he heard her giggle for the umpteenth time (seriously, Mike wasn’t that funny) he cleared his throat and said “Tell Mike you’ll call him back. Come finish your dinner.”

She turned and gave him a look, one of those teenage  _ dad! _ looks, and he gave her one right back. As she turned back around, he thought he caught a glimpse of an eye roll as she told Mike to call her back in ten minutes.

She joined him at the table, definitely bringing an attitude with her as she tried to quickly eat her food.

“You’re gonna choke, you keep eating like that,” he told her.

She didn’t respond, just began viciously attacking her chicken.

“ _ Hey _ ,” he said, which caused her to look up. “You talked to him last night. And you’re gonna talk to him again before you go to sleep, okay? He’s not going anywhere. So settle down.”

She sighed, and slowed down her attack on her food.

“Better,” he said, though he could tell by looking at her she still had that attitude. He decided to ignore it for now. “You do your homework?”

She nodded, glancing over towards the coffee table, where a math textbook sat. “It’s easy,” she said.

“Well, that’s because it’s just beginning algebra. Wait a couple of months, you’ll get the  _ real _ stuff.” He’d found an old sixth grade math textbook he was using to help her with math.

“Will I really get to go to school? With my friends?” she asked, looking up.

Hopper nodded. “I said you could, and you will. Promise. But  _ not _ until September, remember.”

El nodded, and began picking at her peas. The fly returned, and with a flick of her head, it slammed against the wall, dead. She glanced at Hopper to see his reaction, but he just kept eating his meal.

 

When the food was finished and the table was cleared, El waited eagerly by the phone as Hopper settled in front of the television, watching a rerun of  _ Cheers _ . When the phone finally did ring, Eleven snatched it up before it got a chance to ring twice.

“Mike?” she said.

“Hey. Are you done?”

She nodded, even though he couldn't see her. “Yes.”

“Oh. Good.”

Over the next thirty minutes he told her what Lucas, Will, Dustin, and Max (whom El was slowly warming up to) had done that day, and El told him about her math work. By the time  _ Cheers _ was ending and  _ Nightcourt _ was beginning, El heard Mike’s mom telling him to get off the phone, just as she saw Hopper turning and looking at her.

“I gotta go, El,” Mike said. “But...I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay,” she sighed. It was always hard to say goodbye. “Night, Mike.”

“Night, El.”

She hung up, and joined Hopper on the couch.

“He doing okay?” he asked. She nodded.

When a commercial came on, Hopper lifted up the textbook and skimmed the page he’d assigned. After a few minutes, he said, “This one’s wrong.”

She looked over to the one he was pointing at. “It is?”

“Yeah. There’s no way x equals negative fifteen here.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. She knew he was right, of course. After her first assignment a week ago, she’d found, in the back of the book, a page with all of the answers (Hopper would later tell her it was called an answer key). Hopper had found out she was copying, and he’d ripped the pages from the book, keeping it with him to check her answers.

“I thought it was easy,” he teased, handing her back the book.

She gave him a look, then went in search of a pencil.

 

A little later, she sat up in bed as Hopper read  _ Anne of Avonlea _ . She was more than capable of reading on her own now, but she enjoyed (and she knew Hopper did, too) having him read to her. When he got to a stopping point, he put a bookmark onto the page and closed up the book. “Night, kid,” he said, leaning over and kissing the top of her head.

“Hop?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think I’m smart?”

He paused, probably surprised by the question. After a second, he said “Of course you are. Why would you ask that?”

El looked down, fidgeting with her covers before answering “Mike told me about a...experiment he did. And I didn’t understand.”

Hopper grinned. “El, I don’t think Mike understands that stuff, not really, anyway. Besides, he’s had a head start.”

“Head start?”

“Yeah, he’s been learning in school years before you did.”

“But...what if I’m not smart enough?”

He frowned. “Smart enough for what?”

“For...for school.” She also was wondering  _ for Mike _ .

“Hey. Kid. Look at me,” he said, causing her to look up. “You  _ are _ smart. You understand? Maybe you don’t know everything just yet, but by the time you start school you’re gonna blow them away. You hear me?”

She nodded, but still wasn’t sure.

“What’s our rule?” he asked.

Smiling slightly, she answered “Not stupid.”

“Damn right. And you are  _ not _ stupid.” He kissed her head again. “Night, El.”

“Night.” She closed her eyes, feeling a little better.

 

February

 

During the second week of February Mike caught the flu and couldn’t talk for a few days, and Eleven felt even  _ more _ isolated from the outside world. Sure, she had Hopper, but Mike had been her daily updater on the happenings in school, with their friends, and other things she was curious about. She felt bad; she wanted him to get better, obviously, but she also wanted someone to talk to. Her lonely days in the cabin weren’t so bad when she knew she could look forward to talking to Mike at night. Hopper had gotten her to stop using the Void (for now) to visit him; he’d said he didn’t want her to strain her abilities (whatever  _ that _ meant).

Her days in the cabin were spent usually waking up with Hopper and eating breakfast. Most days, when he had to work, he’d assign homework for her to do while he was gone. After eating she’d then spend an hour or two reading and doing whatever work he’d given her. By the time that was finished, it was usually time for her soaps. She’d toast herself a few Eggo waffles and sit in front of the television, entranced. When they were done, she would usually either read or watch something else.

She didn’t mind it, not at first.

But after nearly a month and a half of doing the same routine everyday, she was beginning to feel boxed in.

The first time, last year, had been bad enough. But now that she’d had contact with her friends, and now that they  _ knew _ she was still out there, the longing to leave the cabin was even more intense for El. What she wouldn’t do to spend a day sitting in Mike’s basement with her friends (or just Mike).

The few times that Hopper had the day off, he’d ask her what she wanted to do. On those days he would relent a little and the two would go into the woods, usually fishing or sometimes just walking around, Eleven enjoying the feel of the breeze on her face. But it seemed Hopper’s off days were very far and few between.

 

A few days into Mike getting sick, she was sitting at the table with Hopper. He had a beer and was reading the paper while she worked on a puzzle. The television was on, so she almost didn’t hear it; a faint voice, saying “El?”

She’d looked up and scanned the room. Hopper apparently didn’t hear it, as he continued to read his newspaper. But then, a moment later, she heard her name once more: “El? Are you there? It’s me, it’s Mike.”

She’d jumped up from the table, jiggling it and causing Hopper’s beer to nearly topple over. “Hey!” he called after her.

Ignoring him, she ran into her room and found her Supercom. Picking it up, she asked, “Mike?”

“Hey, El. I…” There was a pause, as she heard him coughing.

“Are you alright?” she asked, worried.

The coughing ceased, and he answered, “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Still sick?”

“Unfortunately.” He coughed again, then said “Um...well, I got my mom to let me talk for a few minutes.”

She smiled.

“How’ve you been?” he asked.

“Good,” she answered, then added “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.” A few more coughs, then he said “Um...there was another reason I wanted to call. I wanted to say Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Her smile grew. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure what Valentine’s Day was all about, but she knew it had to do with liking someone. She’d been seeing commercials for flowers during the day. She hadn’t known it was today.

“Happy Valentine’s to you, too,” she said back.

“I made you a card, I’m gonna see if Nancy or somebody’ll give it to Hopper.”

“Thank you.”

He coughed, and then she heard a woman’s voice in the background. He sighed, then said “I’ll talk to you in a few days, El, okay?”

“Okay.”

They said goodbye, and she clicked off the walkie. She returned to the kitchen, taking her seat at the table. Before going back to her puzzle, she asked Hopper “Can I make Mike a Valentine’s card?”

So the two spent the next hour folding papers and cutting out red hearts (El had to make sure it was absolutely  _ perfect _ ) until she was finally satisfied with what she had. Inside she wrote “Get Better Soon. Love, El.”

“Love?” Hopper asked, looking at it.

She frowned. “That’s what the cards say on TV.”

Hopper whistled, and said “Okay.”

She looked confused. She knew what love meant; was she not supposed to write that?

 

The next day Hopper took the card with him to work, and when he returned he came back with El’s card from Mike. It was on pink paper, with a purple heart glued to the outside. El read and reread the simple “Miss You. Love, Mike” until it was time for sleep. He’d also stuck in a photo of the group from the Snowball, and Hopper found a frame for her to put next to her bed.

Overall, February wasn’t too bad.

 

March

 

March came, and Eleven’s feeling of isolation didn’t go away at all. If anything, it got worse. With the weather getting more and more pleasant outside, she longed even more to be out and with her friends. The TV would show commercials about people enjoying themselves outside, and all she could do was wish it were  _ her _ on the screen, smiling all wide with her friends. She began seeing commercials for something called a “mall,” and asked Mike about it the next time they spoke.

“It’s, like, a big store,” he’d told her.

She’d frowned. “Why do they have one big store?”

“Well, no, I mean...it’s like a  _ bunch _ of stores, all in one building. So if you want to get shoes, or games, or food, I guess. We can’t wait to go.”

She’d sighed, and he heard her, because next he asked “Do you think…”

“No,” she’d said, already knowing what he was going to ask. “He won’t let me.”

The routine continued; wake up, eat, do homework, watch TV, read, watch more TV, eat, and call Mike. Hopper had recently introduced her to the word “repetitive,” and she learned to use that a lot.

“Every day is repetitive.”

“The math is getting repetitive.”

“Can we watch something else? This show is repetitive.”

Hopper took a break from introducing new words for a while.

 

On one rainy evening, she was sitting at the window, looking dreamily outside as she waited for Hopper. She was so lost in thought that she almost missed the  _ beepbeep _ of the Morse code coming through the radio. Scrambling up, she went and listened as Hopper tapped out  _ Late _ . She sighed, and collapsed onto the couch in frustration. She couldn’t think of anything to do. There wasn’t anything on TV she wanted to watch, her homework was done. She thought about calling Mike, but they’d just talked yesterday.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw, under her bed, the blindfold she used to use to “visit” him. Getting up, she pulled it out and sat in front of the television. Finding static, she blinded herself as she thought about Mike.

A moment later she could hear him, far away at first, but as she turned she saw him standing with her friends. A smile came to her face as she watched Mike, standing next to Will, Lucas, and Max, as the group watched Dustin. Dustin stood in front of some box, pounding away at it and swearing under his breath.

“You’re not gonna beat my score,” Max said teasingly.

“Just you wait, Mad Max, that score is going  _ down _ ,” Dustin said in response.

“Come on, Dustin, you can do it,” Mike said encouragingly. Eleven moved next to him. She couldn’t see what was in the box they were all staring at, but it felt nice, even if it  _ was _ in the void, to be next to them.

Music started to play, and Dustin put his hands up. “Yes!” Turning to the redhead, he said, “I  _ told  _ you I’d get it.”

“Calm down,” Max said, moving Dustin out of the way and taking his spot. She began to hit the buttons, too, but her frowning face let El know she wasn’t having much success. 

Eleven turned back to Mike, looking him over as he watched Max. Being so close reminded her again of how much she missed him. If possible, he was even taller now. The freckles that she adored still dotted parts of his face, and it took all her strength not to reach out and touch them.

After a moment, he turned, and it almost appeared he was looking right at her. “El?” he asked softly. The others didn’t seem to notice.

“Mike,” she breathed.

His gaze stayed on her, and she reached for him, touching his hand. Just as she did, he looked at his hand, and a split second later he and the group disappeared.

Back at the cabin, she took off the blindfold and wiped the blood from her nose, as a few tears fell from her eyes. She didn’t know what they were doing, but she wished she could’ve been there with them.

 

April

 

On the first Saturday of April, Hopper had his first day off in awhile and was looking forward to sleeping in and taking it easy.

Eleven’s body, however, had different plans.

He woke up early Saturday to a scream coming from her room. His first instinct was to find his gun as he stumbled out of bed, half awake but concerned about Eleven.

“El?” he called as he made his way to her closed door. No response. He tried the door, but it wouldn’t open. By now, he knew the difference between it being locked and her using her powers. This was the latter. Knocking, he put his gun down and said “El, what’s wrong?”

“I’m bleeding,” came her quiet voice from the other side of the door.

“What? Let me in, then, I…”

“No!” she yelled back, causing the door to shudder.

He sighed, and put his hands on his hips. “Okay. Why’re you bleeding? Did you cut yourself?”

“No, it….it just happened.”

“Well, what do you mean it just happened?” 

A pause, then “I tried to change clothes and...I was bleeding.”

Hopper stopped, as something suddenly dawned to him. “Oh, Jesus. El, okay, hold on.” With a shake of his head, he walked over to the phone and dialed Joyce Byers.

After a few rings, she picked up, and he thanked the stars she wasn’t working. He didn’t know who else to call. “Joyce, we got a situation here,” he said to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“El, uh...I think she’s having her first...you know.”

“Her first what?”

_ Don’t make me say it _ , he thought to himself. “The hormone fairy. It came today.”

“Hormone fairy? What do you... _ oh _ .”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Well, okay. Uh...let me get some things and I’ll be there in about an hour.”

He sighed. “Hurry.”

 

Eleven still hadn’t come out of her room by the time Joyce arrived. Hopper met her at the door, and started to take the grocery bag she’d brought with her, but she shook her head. “I got it.”

Joyce walked to El’s closed door and knocked. “El, honey? It’s me, it’s...it’s Joyce. Can I come in?”

There was a  _ click _ as the door unlocked, and Joyce gave a glance to Hopper before she entered, closing the door behind her.

Hopper waited uncomfortably for about twenty minutes, hearing quiet voices coming from the bedroom before the door eventually opened, Joyce carrying the now nearly empty bag and Eleven walking behind her, head down in slight embarrassment.

“We all good here?” he asked, looking to Joyce.

She nodded. “Everything’s fine.”

Eleven glanced at Hopper, then back down at the floor. “I’m going to shower,” she said quietly before she walked quickly to the bathroom.

When she’d gone, Joyce smiled at Hopper, and handed him the bag she held. Looking at it, he asked, “What’s this?”

“Chocolate,” Joyce said. “It might help.”

“Oh.”

“I gave her some aspirin and, you know...other things.”

Hopper nodded; both of them clearly didn’t want to talk about this. “She knows what to do? What’s going on?”

Joyce smiled. “She does now. Tell her to call me if she needs anything else, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course.”

Joyce patted his shoulder. “Congratulations, Hop. You’ve got yourself a young woman.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, thanks.”

 

Hopper and El stayed indoors that day, watching TV while Eleven devoured her chocolate. Things were mostly quiet; Hopper didn’t know what to say, and El still seemed embarrassed. Finally, at dinnertime, she spoke up.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she told him.

He looked up from his plate, surprised. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You feeling better?”

She nodded. “Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“You’re...quiet.”

He smiled at her. “No, El, I’m not mad. This just...I wasn’t expecting it.”

“I wasn’t either.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, chuckling. “But no, I’m not mad at you. You….you handled this like a champ, kid.” He reached over and ruffled her hair.

She smiled, and they went back to eating.

 

May

 

By the middle of May, Eleven was back to feeling lonely once more. Hopper was gone most days, and Mike was at times too busy to talk-something about last minute assignments coming up in class. But when they did talk, it made El feel both good and not so-good. She loved talking to Mike, obviously, but she was so  _ desperate  _  to get out of the cabin.

“Our science fair is at the end of the month,” he told her one night as the two talked on the Supercom. “The guys and I are doing this cool thing with magnets. I wish...I wish you could come.”

“I do, too,” she said.

A pause, then he asked “Does it really have to be a year?”

“I don’t know.” She knew that (supposedly) she’d be going to school in September, so that would technically not be a full year. But she doubted she’d get any kind of early reprieve.

At dinner the next night, she asked Hopper as much. “Mike is having a science fair. Can I go?”

He shook his head. “Still not safe.”

She’d huffed, then asked “But September  _ is _ safe?”

He looked up from his plate. “What’re you talking about?”

“Why isn’t it safe  _ now _ but it will be in September?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. It just...the guy said a year, so it’s gonna be a year.”

“But September isn’t a year.”

“El, it is what it is, okay? I know you miss him, but remember our rule.”

She pushed her plate away, rolling her eyes. Folding her arms, she said “I want to see him.”

Hopper gave her a look. “Just because you get an attitude doesn’t mean I’m gonna come around, alright? Ease up.”

She was still fuming, but didn’t push the matter.

That night, after Hopper read  _ Anne of the Island _ , she stopped him before he left the room. “I’m sorry I had an aptitude.”

He grinned. “Attitude.” Sighing, he said “Look, I know you miss him. And maybe we can work something out, alright?”

“Compromise?” she asked.

He nodded. “Something like that. We’ll see.”

She went to bed excited that night.

But the excitement faded the next day, when Hopper told her no, he didn’t think it was a good time just yet. That night Mike couldn’t talk after dinner, as he and the boys were putting the final touches on the project. But just as she was getting into bed, Hopper on his way with the book, her walkie chirped and Mike’s voice came through.

Hopper, standing in the doorway, nodded, telling her he’d read tomorrow.

With a flick of her head, the door closed and she picked up the walkie. “Hi, Mike.”

“Hey. Sorry I couldn’t talk before. We had everything done, but then Dustin’s cat scratched up our poster, so we had to do it again.”

El chuckled.

“How was your day?”

They spent the next fifteen minutes taking turns, she talking about her homework and some tidbits from her soap operas, Mike talking a little about the project, their friends, and how the mall was supposed to open up next month.

When they’d finished, Mike asked her if she’d talked to Hopper.

“He...said no,” she answered.

“Oh.” 

She frowned, hearing the disappointment in his voice. “Sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay. I guess I was just really hoping, I guess. Maybe I’ll see if Hopper will let me come see  _ you _ .”

She nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Well, okay. Night, El.”

“Night, Mike.”

Crawling under the covers, El thought about the disappointment she’d heard from Mike. She thought about how cooped-up she’d been feeling. Finally, before her eyes closed and she drifted off, she came to a decision:

One way or another, she was going to see Mike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be up next week, more El/Hopper as well as more Mileven. I really like writing Hopper and El...
> 
> P.S. I know Mike probably would've begged Will to tell him where the cabin is or something, but for the sake of the story he didn't. See you next week! :)


	3. Not Stupid

_ They wouldn’t see me. _

_ Who wouldn’t see you? _

_ The bad men. _

_ What’re you talking about? _

_ Trick or treat. _

_ You want to go trick or treating?...You know the rules. _

_ Yes, but… _

_ So you know the answer. _

_ But they wouldn’t see me… _

_ I don’t care, alright? You go out there, ghost or not, it’s a risk. We don’t take risks, alright? They’re stupid. And…? _

_ We’re not stupid! _

 

The morning of the science fair, Mike woke up with a few things on his mind.

First, of course, was the science fair. He and his group of friends had been preparing for this day for weeks now, perfecting their speech as well as the poster and display. The fact that Dustin’s cat had scratched up the poster once they’d completed it didn’t exactly make him happy (or anyone else, for that matter).

The decision to keep it at Dustin’s was something he’d come to regret; when the party was deciding where to work, they’d ran through where to complete it. Will’s house was too cramped, Lucas didn’t want to work at his house for fear of Erica messing with them, Max didn’t want to do it at her house for obvious reasons (Billy), so that left Dustin or Mike’s. Dustin had argued for his house, saying Mike’s basement was their base of operations for fun, and they should make their base for “work” somewhere else. So, they’d ended up at Dustin’s.

All of the other last minute assignments given by his other teachers took a lot of his thoughts, too. With school ending in two weeks ( _ yay! _ ) his teachers had upped the workload. And Mike, who’d almost always had straight A’s, intended to finish middle school with that streak intact.

Then, of course, there was Eleven, who’d occupied most of his thoughts since he’d met her. Since the last time he’d actually seen her in person-the Snowball-she’d been predominantly at the forefront of his mind. And he missed her; so, so badly. The nightly talks were good, but he wanted to see her in person. When she had shown up at the school dance, he thought it meant she’d be able to go out on a regular basis. That dream was soon shattered when the chief had whisked her away at the end of the night, but not until after they’d shared one last kiss.

He knew she was in a cabin somewhere, he just didn’t know  _ where _ that cabin was. He’d asked Will about the location, but Will said he’d slept during most of the ride after they’d ridden him of the Mind Flayer, and wasn’t sure.

Nancy wasn’t any help, as she said that the cabin needed to be kept a secret for El’s sake (as well as Mike’s). There was no point in asking Mrs. Byers, and Jonathan was in the same boat as Nancy.

So last night Mike had came to a decision. This weekend was a long one-Memorial Day-and when he talked to El tonight, he’d ask her to describe any landmarks or anything else around her, and he’d bike around all weekend to find the cabin. He  _ had _ to see her.

“Mike! You’re going to be late!” 

His mom’s voice, coming from downstairs, snapped him from his thoughts. He quickly got up and dressed, and minutes later had made his way to the breakfast table. His father sat with his attention on the newspaper, Holly was playing with her food, and Nancy was trying to simultaneously study a notecard as well as eat. His mom was on the phone, chatting with someone.

Mike warmed up two waffles and took his spot next to Nancy. Holly suddenly knocked over her cup, spilling juice all over her food. Mike seemed to be the only who noticed it.

“Um…” he said. His mom’s back was to him, Nancy was focused on her cards, and his dad was engrossed in the paper.

“Um…” he said a little louder, “Holly’s made a mess.”

His mom turned around, saw Holly, and sighed. “Ted, can you clean her up?”

“Hm?” his father asked, looking at Holly. Folding his paper, he shook his head, saying “Come on.” Picking her up, he made his way into the kitchen.

Once he left, Mike glanced over at Nancy, who was whispering things to herself as she scrolled through her notecards. “Nancy?” he whispered.

“What?” she asked back, eyes still on her cards.

“Can you  _ please _ tell me where the cabin is?”

“Where the…” she finally looked at him, confused. Once realization hit, her brows furrowed and she said “No, Mike. It’s not safe.”

“Please?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head and looking back at her cards.

Mike sighed, and dejectedly picked at his waffles.

 

A few hours later Jim Hopper sat in a booth at The Hideaway, debating whether it was technically too early for a beer or not. He was here after days of trying (and eventually being successful) to get ahold of Dr. Sam Owens. The good doctor had finally agreed to meet with him today. 

So as Hopper decided instead to just have a sandwich, he watched as Dr. Owens made his way in, sitting across from him.

“Pops,” Owens said, grinning at Hopper. “How’s family life treating you?”

“Not too bad,” Hopper responded. “Though I could go without the typical teenage drama.”

Owens chuckled as a waitress came and took their order. After she’d left, Owens said “So I know I didn’t come all this way just to be treated to lunch.”

Hopper furrowed his brow. “Who said I’m treating?” Owens grinned, and Hopper continued, saying “You know you’re a hard man to get ahold of, Doc.”

“Part of working for the government, I guess,” he answered.

“Right. Well...the reason I had you come down here is because I wanted to see if we can change this whole year thing.”

“Change it?”

“That’s right,” Hopper said, nodding.

“Geez, Hop, I mean…”

“The biggest mistake I made with her was keeping her locked away for nearly a year. You have no idea how much that hurt her. And now, doing it again? I don’t know how much longer she can take.”

Owens nodded, looking at his hands. Finally, he said “There’s probably always going to be some kind of risk, I don’t know if that’s ever gonna go away. But…” He trailed off, looking around as he thought of what to say.

“But what?”

“I mean ‘they’  _ have _ left town. And from everything I’ve heard, they’re not coming back anytime soon.”

“So she’s in the clear?”

Owens put up his hands. “I didn’t say  _ that _ . But I think it’s safe to say she’s, you know...safe.”

Hopper smiled. “So?”

“ _ So _ ...I would suggest maybe trying a, uh, ‘field trip’ every now and then to sort of test the waters to be sure, but...it’d probably be okay for her to be out and about.”

Hopper smiled, already thinking of how to break the news to El. “I guess I am gonna pay for lunch, then,” he told Owens.

 

Back at the cabin, Eleven was working on her homework and going through today’s schedule in her head. She had decided that this would be the day she’d go and see Mike, at his science fair. In about an hour she would have to leave. Mike had told her that the fair was right after school, and she remembered that school was over at 3:15, or “three one five” as she’d once believed. Hopper wouldn’t be home until around seven, his usual time. So she’d have some time to spend with Mike and her friends.

She’d barely been able to sleep last night, so excited about what today would bring. The thought of seeing Mike again, in person, and to be able to hold him and touch him again...

She felt herself smiling; she couldn’t help it. Still, she knew she would probably have to start heading to the cabin at around six. Or, if Mike used his bike to bring her back, she could stay a little later. She hoped he would bring her back, so she could show him where the cabin was. Then, maybe, they could see each other more often.

Her homework now forgotten, she put it to the side as one of her soaps began.

 

A little bit later, at Hawkins Middle School, Mike was trying to pay attention to Mrs. Klein in his last class of the day, history. However, his mind was far away, as it kept drifting off. Currently, he was debating whether he should tell his friends about locating the cabin. Would they try to talk him out of it?

The bell rang, and he grabbed his notebook and backpack as he got out of his seat. After a quick trip to his locker, he headed down to the gymnasium to meet his friends. Lucas and Dustin had gym class last period, so they should already be there, setting up. Will was in math, which unfortunately was on the other side of the building. Max was in Spanish class, which wasn’t too far from the gym.

When Mike arrived, the fair was in the early stages of setting up. Sure enough, he found Lucas and Dustin at an end table, arguing over how to best display the poster they’d created.

“You guys are seriously fighting over this?” Mike asked, taking off his backpack as he arrived at the table. “It’s just a stupid poster.” He moved it to the center of the table.

“Thank you,” Lucas muttered.

“It shouldn’t go in the middle,” Dustin complained. “Where’re we gonna stand to talk about it? We’ll be in the way.”

“Well, then, we’ll just stand to the side,” Mike offered.

“And what about our display?” Dustin pointed out.

“Oh, yeah.” The group also had a magnet experiment to go along with the poster; Will was bringing it.

“See?” Dustin said, sliding the poster over to one side.

“Whatever,” Lucas muttered.

The boys spent a few minutes going over what they were going to say as they waited for the rest of the party to show up, and minutes later they watched as Will came in, the display under his arm; Max at his side, talking about something.

“What took you guys?” Dustin asked them.

“It got stuck in my locker,” Will said, putting the display on the table.

Max put her bag down, then looked around them at the other posters. “There’s no way we’re losing this,” she said, grinning and shaking her head.

“I don’t know, Neil Jenkins’ is pretty good,” Lucas said, pointing towards another table.

“That’s nothing,” Will said. “Did you see Jessica Smith’s?”

Chuckling, Dustin pointed one out. “Look at Sam and Andy’s. They do the volcano every year.”

“Guys, can we focus?” Mike said, getting their attention back.

“Geez, what crawled up your butt?” Max asked.

“Nothing. I just really want to win this.”

The group nodded, rehearsing once more what they’d say, who would show the experiment, etc. Even though Mike was the only one who’d said it, they all wanted to win; even Max, who didn’t take it nearly as serious as the boys did.

At four the fair officially began, and teachers, as well as some parents and students, began walking around, looking at the posters. Mike, Dustin, and Will took turns talking about the experiment, while Lucas and Max alternated performing it. Mr. Clarke, one of the judges, came through and gave the group a thumbs up as he walked past. 

About twenty minutes in, Mike was standing to the side as Dustin went through his spiel when he happened to look towards the doors, and his jaw nearly dropped.

It was El. El was here.

She was  _ here _ .

It almost took him back to the Snowball, when she’d come in those same doors and they’d locked eyes across the room. She didn’t see him this time, and she began to walk into the large room, eyes big as she took in the posters around her. Mike ditched his notecards and ignored his friend’s looks as he made his way over to her.

“El?” he asked when he’d finally caught up to her. El, a few feet in front of him, turned around and their eyes met. “Wh...what’re you doing he..”

But he was cut off, as she ran to him, jumping into his arms with so much force he almost fell over.

“Mike!” she whispered to him, as he put his hands on her waist.

“El,” he said, feeling a huge smile coming as she pulled away just a bit, so the two were eye to eye. “What’re you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you,” she said, smiling as she took him in.

“But I thought you weren’t allowed to, you know, leave?”

She shook her head. “Hopper doesn’t know.”

Mike smiled at her, and began to lean in when, behind him, he heard “Holy crap, is that El?”

They both turned to see Max and Lucas standing a few feet away, both with surprised looks on their faces. Mike and Eleven disentangled themselves, settling for holding hands for now.

Max, the one who’d spoken, took a few steps closer. “How are you  _ here _ ?”

When Eleven didn’t respond right away, Mike answered for her, saying “She snuck out.”

Lucas spoke up, saying “But I thought it wasn’t…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Mike said, cutting him off. “She’s here. And we’ll keep her safe.” Still holding El’s hand, he led her and their friends back to their poster.

 

Needless to say, both Will and Dustin were surprised, too, to see El out of the cabin and in their school. But after Eleven had given everyone a hug (except Max, she wasn’t  _ there _ with her yet), the group got back into their routine. El stood next to Mike, listening and watching him with a smile.  _ He was so smart _ . They all were, really. She didn’t really understand what they were saying to the people that walked by, but she thought the experiment they did was cool.

Mike couldn’t keep a smile off his face.  _ She’s here! Right next to me! _ He really hoped he’d get some alone time with her before she had to go back. Then, more thoughts came to him;  _ does she have to go back? Will she be coming out more often _ ?

During a lull in the fair, Mike did his best to explain to Eleven what their project was about, even letting her use the display and perform the experiment. She smiled and giggled, having fun being a part of the group again, seeing her friends, and being with Mike.

The other boys peppered her with questions during the slow moments, asking her about what she’d been up to, and when she’d finally be able to be with them regularly. She answered the best she could, but wasn’t too sure when this would be a regular thing.

Finally, the judges of the fair-Mr. Clarke, the principal, and another science teacher-called for everyone’s attention. By now, most of the crowd that remained were the parents and a few students.

“First,” Principal Coleman began, “I want to thank all of you who participated in the science fair. I can tell how hard you all worked on these.”

“He said the same thing last year,” Dustin whispered.

El looked at Mike’s hand, at the time-4:03. She smiled, knowing she still had time.

“And really,” Principal Coleman continued, “Really you’re all winners. However, only  _ one _ project can win first place. So…”

Dustin and Lucas crossed their fingers, while Will waited anxiously. Max stood with her arms folded, listening; Mike and El held hands.

“...congratulations to Michael Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, and Maxine Mayfield…”

“ _ Max _ ,” she muttered under her breath.

“On their magnet presentation.”

The group cheered, hugging one another as people clapped for them. Mike was thrilled; first place  _ and _ Eleven was here? It didn’t get any better than that.

Until he looked into the crowd and saw Chief Jim Hopper standing in the back, eyes narrowed and on him as he clapped with everyone else.

 

Eleven saw him, too, and as the round of applause died down, she looked to Mike. He was still holding her hand, and he started to go see Hopper, when Lucas put a hand on his shoulder. “Mike,” he said. “The trophy.”

Mike nodded and El, with another glance at Hopper, stayed, too. The boys and Max got their picture taken with the trophy, then Mike left it with his friends as he and El walked over to the chief.

Hopper’s arms were folded as he glared at the two teens making their way towards him. When they got in front of him, he looked to El, saying “You want to tell me what the hell it is you think you’re doing here?”

“What are  _ you _ doing here?” she asked back.

“It’s not fair what you’re doing to her,” Mike spoke up.

Hopper looked away from Eleven for a moment. “What?”

“Making her stay hidden away, without letting anybody else see her? It’s like she’s a prisoner or something.”

Hopper looked around, making sure no one was listening. Softly, he said “Kid, you don’t know what you’re talking about, okay?”

“Yeah I do. You tried to feed me this bullshit a year ago, saying you were protecting her. You’re not protecting her, you’re just….”

“ _ Mike _ .”

It was El who stopped him, as she could see that the two of them-Mike and Hopper-were close to getting into a full on battle. Mike glared at Hopper, then looked to El. “I’m sorry,” he told her.

She nodded, then looked at Hopper, who looked at her and said “Let’s talk.”

“Don’t take her away,” Mike said, trying to sound confident but the crack in his voice said otherwise.

Hopper turned and looked at him. “We’ll be back.” Leading Eleven, he walked outside into the hallway.

 

“How did you know?” Eleven asked once they’d stepped out.

“How’d I know what?”

“I was here,” she replied, folding her arms.

Hopper sighed. “I went home. And it’s either here or your mama’s, so...I took a chance.”

She huffed, and stole a glance back into the gym. People were cleaning up. Mike was standing where they’d left him, watching them.

“I’m not sorry,” she told Hopper.

“Yeah, I know you’re not,” he responded. Rubbing his face, he said “Look, El. I know it’s been hard and everything, but you can’t sneak out like that, okay?”

Eleven paused; Hopper was upset, but not mad like he was last year. Was something going on?

“Risks like this are stupid, and…”

“We’re not stupid,” she finished for him.

“Right.”

Something crossed her mind, and she asked, “Why did you go home? It’s not seven one five.”

“Seven fifteen,” he corrected. “And I went home because I had something to tell you.”

She unfolded her arms. “Yes?”

 

Mike, still standing in the gym, watched as Eleven and Hopper talked. He was surprised; Hopper was a lot less angry than Mike thought he’d be.

In fact, the chief almost looked like he was...smiling? And as Mike watched, a smile grew on El’s face as well, as she hugged Hopper. Hopper said something back, then looked back at Mike before he said something else to El.

Mike watched her nod, already turning back to the gym then yanking open the door and running back inside.

“El?” he asked. “Is everything o…”

She cut him off again, running into his arms and hugging him tightly.

“El, are you okay?” he finally asked.

Smiling, she pulled away, nodding her head. “The cabin. I can leave it now.”

“Really?” Mike asked, hardly believing his ears.

She nodded and Mike, not caring that his friends were making their way over to them, leaned in and kissed her.

El kissed him back, and couldn’t stop the smiling and giggling as they pulled apart, both of them thinking:  _ This is the best day ever _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Not sure when the next chapter will be up, hopefully next week but maybe not. Thanks for reading.


	4. The Designated Hangout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read, subscribed, left kudos, or commented on the last chapter. I really felt it was rushed and wasn't my best work, but it was nice to see people enjoyed it.  
> I like this chapter a lot better, and hopefully you will, too.

_ Actually, I am looking for my little sister Max. Goes by Maxine? She’s been missing all day, and to be honest with you I’ve been worried sick. I thought she was at Lucas’s but Mrs. Sinclair said your house is the, uh...the designated hangout.  _

 

It was Saturday. On most Saturdays, Mike would just be happy with the brief break from school, allowing more time to hang out with his friends. But this Saturday was special.  _ This _ Saturday was the first day that Eleven could officially leave the cabin.

Since he’d seen her yesterday Mike had been going through what they could do to make today special for El. To be honest, he would love to spend some time alone with her, but he knew that couldn’t happen. Not yet, anyway. The guys were too excited to see El again, and had teased him after she’d left about Mike keeping her all to himself.

But what could they do today?

On any other Saturday, the party would either be in the basement, at the arcade, or riding their bikes around Hawkins. But somehow that didn’t seem good enough on  _ this _ Saturday.

He currently sat in the basement of his home as he waited for good ideas to come to him. The crackling Supercom next to him snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Mike? You there? Over.” Dustin.

Mike snatched the walkie, replying “Yeah, Dustin, I’m here. Over.”

“How soon are you going to get…”

“ _ Don’t _ ,” Mike said, cutting him off. He wasn’t sure if they should be saying her name over the walkie just yet.

“Why’d you...oh, right. When’re you going to...get her? Over.”

Mike sighed, then answered “I don’t know yet, Dustin. I’m probably going to leave here pretty soon. Over.”

Yesterday Mike had been able to talk the chief into letting  _ him _ be the one to pick El up from the cabin. However, they hadn’t specified a time.

“Oh, okay.” There was a pause, and Mike was about to comment how Dustin was supposed to end his transmissions with “over” when his curly haired friend continued with “Lucas said Max isn’t sure if she’s coming. Over.”

“Why? Over.” Although he’d been hesitant to let the redhead into their party (to put it lightly) Mike had eventually agreed on letting Hawkin’s resident Zoomer join their group. It turned out she wasn’t too bad of an addition.

“Well, El wasn’t exactly, you know... _ nice _ to her when they first met. Lucas is worried it’s gonna be weird.” A pause, then “Over.”

_ Then why isn’t Lucas calling me about this? _ Mike thought. “Well...she can come or not, whatever she wants to do. Over.”

He heard Dustin sigh before he said “Alright. Let us know when you’re back with El. Over and out.”

Clicking off, Mike put the Supercom back on the game table as he thought about El and Max. He hadn’t been there when they had officially met, but he’d heard from Lucas that El wouldn’t even acknowledge Max. He felt bad, knowing that it was because El didn’t know how to deal with jealousy (although she had nothing to be jealous about).

But another part of him felt elated that a girl liked him to the point where she’d get envious of another girl just talking to him.

Still, it wasn’t fair to Max, and Mike knew they’d have to eventually deal with it. Max was a member of the party now, and she and El would have to talk things out.

Speaking of El…

He still had no idea on how to make today  _ fun _ for her. Admitting defeat, he went upstairs to get some sisterly advice.

 

Nancy was in her room, her radio playing low music as she flipped through a book. Mike stood in her doorway, and without looking up, she asked “What’s going on, Mike?”

“I need your help,” he said.

“Okay,” she responded, closing her book. “With what?”

“Eleven.”

Nancy smirked, and said “I figured you’d be coming to talk to me about her. What’s up?”

Mike rubbed his arm. “Today’s the first day she can, you know...go  _ out _ and stuff.”

“I know, you told me last night.”

“Well...I wanted to make today special for her, you know? But I can’t think of anything.”

Nancy nodded. “Okay, well, what’s her favorite thing to do with you guys?”

Mike shrugged. “I dunno.”

“O- _ kay _ , maybe you could take her somewhere she hasn’t been that she might like. Can you think of anywhere?”

Mike thought for a second, then shook his head. “Not really.”

“You’re not really helping me here, Mike.”

“I know, I just...I’d love to just sit in the basement, but I don’t think that’s good enough.”

“Why don’t you just ask her what  _ she _ wants to do? And go off of that.”

Mike nodded. “I like that.”

“Good. Now get out of my room.”

Mike grinned, and decided it was time to go pick up El.

 

An hour later at the cabin, Eleven sat at the table as she awaited her pick up from Mike. She was so excited;  _ she finally got to leave the cabin! _ Her mind raced with the possibilities the day held for her.

Hopper was, of course, nervous about her venturing out, and had put off going into work as he too waited for a certain dark haired boy to arrive.

While Eleven sat at the table, Hopper paced, checking his watch every few seconds; a habit that El found pointless.

“How long is he gonna take?” Hopper asked aloud to himself.

“You didn’t tell him a time,” Eleven commented.

“What?”

“Mike. You didn’t tell him what time to be here.”

Hopper frowned, rerunning his conversation with Wheeler in his mind. Dammit, she was right; he  _ hadn’t _ specified a time. Still, Jim had hoped that in Mike’s eagerness to be with El, he’d be here at a decent hour. It was now twenty minutes past eleven.

“Can I call him?” she asked.

Hopper shook his head. “No. He’ll be here.” He took a seat, and their eyes met. “You excited?”

El smiled, nodding eagerly.

“What’re you guys going to do?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“You remember what I told you, right?”

Taking a deep breath, she recited “Always stay with my friends, and if I get...superstitious…”

“Suspicious,” he corrected.

Nodding, she said “Sus _ picious _ , go back to Mike’s.”

Hopper nodded, as he drummed his fingers on the table. “And what time are you supposed to be back?”

“Eight zero zero.”

“Eight o’clock.”

“Eight o’clock…” she said quietly.

Hopper sighed, and was about to cave and let El call Mike, when they both heard leaves crunching outside. Eleven stood up and went to the window. The smile on her face let Hopper know that the guest of honor had arrived. Before he had a chance to say anything, she was using her mind to undo the locks on the door and as Hopper stood up, it swung open as Eleven went to the doorway.

 

“Mike!” El called as he leaned his bike against a tree. He looked up and smiled, so happy to see her again (even if it  _ had _ been less than a day). “Hey El.”

Stepping over the tripwire, he made his way towards the cabin as Hopper filled in the doorway behind El.

“You two set?” Hopper asked, looking between Mike and El.

Eleven nodded, with Mike doing the same a moment later.

“Well…” Hopper started, “Get to it, then. Remember, eight o’clock!”

Eleven smiled, and she began down the steps and towards the bike. Mike followed suit, but Hopper put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

“Wheeler,” the man said, looking down at Mike. “I’m counting on you to keep her safe, okay?”

Mike nodded. “Nothing’s gonna happen to her, chief. I won’t let it.”

Hopper nodded, and let go of Mike’s shoulder. Mike took a few steps, towards a waiting El, when he turned back to the chief and mumbled “Thank you for letting her go out.”

Before the chief could say something back, Mike rushed over the tripwire, and over to Eleven.

 

It was just like old times as the two rode back into Hawkins; Eleven gripping Mike’s waist as he steered them home.

“I missed this,” she said into his ear.

Smiling, Mike nodded, saying back “Me, too.” After riding for a minute, he said “Maybe Hopper’ll get you your own bike, soon. I can show you how to ride it.”

Because he was looking forward, Mike didn’t see El frown before she said “I don’t want a bike.”

“Why not?”

A pause, then she said “I like riding with you.”

He was glad she couldn’t see his face, as the blush he’d suddenly gotten was in danger of covering his whole body.

They arrived at the Wheeler house, and Eleven smiled as she recalled memories of her first home. Mike pulled the bike to the basement door, and Eleven prepared to go in, when he stopped her.

“Mike?” she asked.

“My mom...my dad...they don’t know about you,” he told her.

She looked confused. “They don’t?”

Mike shook his head. “I wasn’t sure how to tell them about you.”

“So...I can’t go in?”

“No, no, El, you can,” Mike said, nearly tripping over his words. “Of course you can. It’s just…we have to be careful. I doubt my mom’s gonna come downstairs, but if she does...we can just say you’re in one of my classes, okay?”

“School?”

“Yeah, in school.”

El nodded, and took Mike’s hand. Opening the door for her, he led her inside. Letting go of his hand, she looked around, smiling at all the memories coming back to her from that short week more than a year ago.

“The fort,” she said, touching one of the sides.

“Huh?”

“You kept it up.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, of course, El.” He watched as she sat down in it, and he grinned as he climbed in as well, the two of them barely fitting in together. “I always knew you were coming back,” he added.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For...not giving up.”

Mike shook his head. “I’d never give up on you.”

She blushed, and ducked her head as she looked away. Mike scooted a little closer, and she turned, their eyes meeting. They felt a tug as they both leaned in, noses almost touching…

“Mike? Where the hell are you?” came Lucas’s voice through the walkie.

“Dammit,” Mike said, pulling away from El and climbing carefully out of the fort, careful not to knock over the sides. Grabbing his Supercom he tried to mask his frustration as he asked “What, Lucas? Over.”

“Have you gotten her yet? Over.”

Mike looked over at Eleven, who still sat in the fort, smiling up at him. “Yeah. We’re here. Over.”

“Finally. We’ll be over in a minute. Over and out.”

Mike clicked off, and as he turned, El was getting out of the fort, making her way to go and sit on the couch.

“The guys are on their way,” Mike said, taking a seat next to her. El nodded, and Mike continued with “And, uh...Max. She’s coming too.”

A look of anger flashed across El’s face, but went away as she nodded again. “Okay.”

“El….we need to talk about her.”

“Why?”

“Because…..she’s in our group now, and she kinda thinks you don’t like her.”

Eleven didn’t say anything, just looked away.

“You don’t need to be jealous, El. I told you...she’s dating Lucas now. And besides….I never liked her, anyway.”

She turned back. “No?”

Mike made a face. “No! I mean...not like I like you. I mean she’s cool, I guess, but...not cool like you.”

Eleven didn’t say anything for a moment, then asked, “Dating?”

“What?”

“You said Lucas and...Max...are dating. Is that...when people like each other and…”

“And hang out together.”

“Are  _ we _ dating?”

“Um…” Mike stuttered, But was saved from answering as there was a knock at the door, letting them know their friends were there. A moment later he was opening the door and was nearly knocked over as Dustin and Will rushed in, eager to see Eleven. Lucas walked in a little slower, with Max dragging her feet behind him.

Dustin immediately bear-hugged Eleven and Will, who El was still getting to know, just settled for a wave. Lucas gave El a hug, while Max took a seat on the couch.

“So what should we do?” Dustin asked, sitting on the other end of the couch from Max.

“The arcade?” Will asked.

“We do that every weekend,” Mike said, sitting with El at the game table.

“The movie theater?” Lucas suggested. “El, have you ever been to one before?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“We could see Rambo 2,” Lucas said.

“It’s rated R,” Will said. “They wouldn’t let us in.”

“Well, then, what’re we going to do?” Dustin asked as Lucas took a seat between he and Max.

Mike, remembering what Nancy had said, turned to Eleven. “El, what would  _ you _ like to do?”

She thought for a moment, thinking about all the things the group could possibly do. She thought back to the week she’d spent here, and all the running around they’d done. And although it would be nice to go out and venture around Hawkins, it felt so good to be back here, in Mike’s basement.

“Can we stay here?” she asked quietly. “And maybe...see a movie?”

“You want to stay  _ here _ ?” Lucas asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Dustin said. “You’ve been locked away, like, for _ ever _ , and you just want to stay here?”

Eleven ducked her head, wondering if she’d made the wrong decision.

Luckily, Mike saved her by saying “Guys, if that’s what El wants to do, then we should do it. It’s  _ her _ day, after all.”

Everyone agreed except Max, who still hadn’t said anything yet.

“We should show her  _ Star Wars _ ,” Will said, eagerly. The other boys nodded in agreement.

“ _ Again _ ?” Max said, finally speaking up and rolling her eyes.

“It’s only the best movie,” Lucas said.

“No it’s not,” Max said in response.

“Why we don’t let El decide for herself?” Mike asked. Looking at her, he asked, “What do you say, El?”

She nodded, a smile coming to her face.

Since she’d last been here, the TV that had once been upstairs in the family room now sat in the basement, having been replaced with a bigger model. While Dustin searched for the VHS tape, Mike went upstairs to make popcorn. El and Max glanced at one another, then El looked away as Lucas got up to help look for the cassette.

To be honest, El wasn’t as mad as she used to be. At this point, she was more ashamed of her actions towards the redheaded girl than anything else. But she also didn’t know how to go about talking to her and apologizing.

The boys had found the tape by the time Mike returned with the popcorn, and the group settled in to watch the movie. Lucas, Dustin, and Max took the couch while Will sat on the floor. Mike and El settled in the fort, lying next to each other on their stomachs as the movie began to play.

El enjoyed it, but not as much as the boys seemed to. There was a lot of “Ooh watch this part” and line reciting from the boys, especially Dustin and Will, but she liked it just the same. Mike asked her as much when it was over.

“Did you like it?”

She nodded, smiling. “It was cool.”

Mike seemed satisfied, grinning from ear to ear. 

From upstairs, they heard “Michael?” 

Eleven glanced at him. “My mom. Be right back,” he said, climbing out of the fort.

As he went upstairs, Eleven got up due to her legs falling asleep, and made her way to game table.

“Are we just gonna watch one, or all of them?” Will asked as he got up to stop the VCR.

“We’ve got to show El  _ Empire _ ,” Lucas said.

“Well,  _ Jedi’s _ the best,” Dustin argued, “So we may as well.”

“In what universe is  _ Return of the Jedi _ better than  _ Empire Strikes Back _ ?” Lucas asked.

“In a galaxy far, far, away, apparently,” Will joked.

“Are you seriously still debating this?” Dustin asked Lucas. “Uh...the final fight between Luke and Vader? Leia in the…” he paused, glancing at the two girls, then said “...you know. And the ewoks!”

“Are you seriously using the ewoks in your defense?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah, ewoks suck,” Will added.

“Blasphemous!” Dustin exclaimed. “Take it back, both of you!”

On the couch, Max rolled her eyes and stood up. “I’m going outside to skate for a minute,” she announced. “Let me know when you guys are done?”

The group watched her go, and Lucas started to get up but Eleven stood first, following Max outside.

 

Max was walking towards the street, her board under her arm, when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned, and was surprised when she saw it was El who had followed her out, and not Lucas like she’d thought.

She stopped, letting El catch up. “Uh..hey.”

“Hey,” El said back.

“They’re such nerds,” Max huffed, nodding towards the house.

El smiled and tried to stifle a giggle. “But they are...good friends.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Max said, kicking at the grass. Neither girl talked for a moment, and Max started to turn to go to the road.

“Um...Max?” El asked.

“Yeah?”

Eleven took a small step forward, and said “I’m...sorry. For not shaking your hand.”

Max grinned. “It’s okay.”

El shook her head. “No, it was…” she tried to think of the right word. “ _ Rude _ . I...thought you liked Mike.”

Max made a face. “Ew,  _ Wheeler _ ?”

Another flash of anger came across El’s face. “What’s wrong with Mike?”

Noticing El’s look, Max said “Nothing. I just...I don’t like him, El. I mean he’s nice, I guess, but I don’t think he’s...good looking or anything.”

Eleven looked confused. “Mike is the prettiest.”

Max snorted, covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh, making El even more confused. “It’s nothing,” Max explained. “I’m sorry. But...boys are called handsome. Girls are pretty.”

“Oh. Well...Mike is the most handsome.”

Max shrugged. “If you say so.”

El smiled.

“And besides, the way he talked about you, it was obvious how much he liked you.”

El nodded. “I like him, too.”

Max looked at the street. “You wanna skateboard with me?”

Eleven looked at the board nervously. “I...don’t know how.”

“It’s okay. I can show you.”

El nodded, and the two girls made their way to the street.

 

When the boys finally came outside to get the girls, they were surprised to see the two of them in the street, both giggling as Max tried to help El use the skateboard. As a result, the movie marathon took a backseat as the boys joined them outside, riding their bikes and cheering on El as she tried to maneuver the board.

Eventually everyone went back in, and Eleven got to see  _ The Empire Strikes Back _ which, she had to agree with Lucas, Will, and Mike, was the better of the two she’d seen so far.

Dustin wasn’t happy about that.

They didn’t have time to watch  _ Jedi _ , so after El agreed to watch it next time, everyone got ready to leave. Eleven gave everyone a hug (even Max), and soon everyone was on their way home; including El, on the back of Mike’s bike.

 

The two spent the bike ride with Eleven telling Mike her favorite parts in the movies, and how she and Max had made up. Mike was glad that the two got along now, and hoped it would remain so.

As they neared the cabin they both got off the bike, and walked through the woods; Mike walking his bike, and El walking next to him.

“When do you think Hopper’ll let you come out next?” Mike asked.

She shrugged. “Not sure.”

Mike nodded. “Did you have fun today?”

El smiled. “Lots of fun.”

The cabin came into view, and they saw a light on inside, signaling Hopper was home. Still, Mike leaned his bike against a tree, and the two of them stepped over the tripwire as Mike walked El the last few steps.

“Was there anything else you wanted to do today? I wanted today to be, you know...special.” He chuckled. “I didn’t know if hanging out at my house was good enough.”

She stopped, causing him to stop, just before the bottom step. Shaking her head, she said “Just being with all of you was special.”

Mike smiled, and nodded his head. “Okay.”

She smiled back, and leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Goodnight, Mike.”

“Goodnight, El,” he said once she’d leaned away. She’d put a foot on the bottom step when he said “Uh, El?”

She paused, turning to look at him. “Yes?”

“Um...remember before, you asked about Lucas and Max? And, uh...dating?”

She nodded, recalling the conversation from a few hours ago.

“Well, I...I wanted to know if you’d, uh...want to...go on a date with me.” Mike’s face was in it’s early shades of redness, even though he had a feeling of what her answer would be.

When he finally looked up, he saw that she’d come back down the steps, and was smiling up at him. “Yes,” she said, touching his cheek.

Mike smiled, and once more the two were leaning towards each other, lips close as...

“El, what’re you doing out here?” Hopper asked as he pulled the door open, causing the two to pull away from one another. Hopper looked between the two, and the look on Mike’s face gave him an idea of exactly what they were doing.

“Um! We, uh….” Mike stammered.

“We were saying goodbye,” Eleven answered, looking up at Hopper.

Hopper gave a look at Mike, then back at El. “Just don’t take too long,” he finally said, before turning and going back inside.

Eleven turned back to Mike, whose blush was slowly fading away. “I’ll, uh...I’ll talk to you tomorrow, about our…”

“Date?” she finished.

He nodded. “Yeah. Our date. Maybe on Monday? It’s a long weekend, so…”

“Long weekend?”

“It’s Memorial Day, so we don’t have school.”

She nodded in understanding. “Okay.”

They both felt the tug again, and Mike brought himself closer as their lips touched, briefly, before they pulled apart.

“Goodnight, El,” he said with a smile.

“Goodnight, Mike.”

Smiling at him, she turned and went up the stairs to ask Hopper about Monday.

  
Mike rode his bike home with the biggest smile he’d ever had.  _ He had a date with Eleven! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be their date, but it might be a while before I get a chance to write it.   
> I like comments...


	5. He Says He Needs Me

_ You visited him again last night? _

_ He says he needs me. _

_ Want me to go check on him? I know you miss him, but it’s too dangerous. You’re the last thing he needs right now. _

 

In all the time that Eleven was gone, when he’d called to her from the fort at night, Mike had thought about a few things:

_ Was she alive? _

_ Was she safe? _

And the recurring thought that he tried to push down:

_ Does she like me? _

He felt guilty, thinking like that. Eleven surely had bigger problems then worrying about the affections of Mike “Frog Face” Wheeler. He just wanted her to be okay.

But during that 353 days, he allowed himself to believe that maybe she  _ did _ like him. That small smile she’d given him after he’d kissed her was proof of  _ some _ thing, right?

When she had returned, he’d started thinking about asking her to be his girlfriend, and asking her out on a date.

It was damn near pretty much all he thought of, honestly.

And now that a date was actually here, only a day away, he felt himself beginning to panic. What do people  _ do _ on dates? Where would be a good place to go? Should he show El something new, or someplace familiar?

And what if she didn’t like it? What if he was all nervous and tongue tied, or if she realized exactly how much of a nerd he was?

He gave himself a headache, worrying about it.

He hadn’t told his friends yet, as he figured their teasing would be relentless. But after tossing and turning all Saturday night, he decided that he had to ask  _ some _ one for advice. So he decided to ask someone else who knew Eleven probably as well as he did. 

He went to see Hopper.

 

Luckily, the chief of police was working Sunday afternoon, as evidenced when Mike saw his jeep parked outside the station as he pedaled his bike there.

Leaning his bike against a wall, he made his way inside. Due to Hawkins being a small town, and currently not in the midst of any interdimensional monsters, the station was quiet. Mike saw deputies Powell and Callahan playing cards at their desks, while another officer was leaned back in his chair, hat over his head as he slept.

“Can I help you?” came a voice.

Mike turned, and saw where the voice was coming from-Flo, the station’s secretary. She sat at her desk, looking at Mike curiously.

“Uh, yeah,” he responded. “Is Hopper here?”

Flo raised an eyebrow, but picked up her phone regardless. This was Mike’s third time coming to the station, so by now, he figured, she knew Mike had some kind of connection to the chief.

“Hopper, I have a young man here to see you,” she said into the phone, eyes still looking at Mike. She listened for a moment, then said “Yep, that’s the one,” with a smile. “Okay.”

She hung up. “He’s all yours.”

Mike nodded a thank you, then went down the small hallway to Hopper’s office, finding the door open and the man himself behind his desk, stubbing out a cigarette as he closed a magazine.

“Long time no see, kid,” Hopper said as Mike entered the room. Hopper motioned towards the chair on the other side of the desk, and Mike sat down. “What brings you out here?”

“It’s about El,” Mike said quietly.

Hopper rolled his eyes. “Dammit. You’re not bailing on her, are you?”

“What? No! I…”

“Because she hasn’t stopped talking about this date you have tomorrow.”

“She hasn’t?” Mike asked, a grin growing on his face.

Hopper shook his head. “So what is it?”

“Um…” Mike paused. He so did not want to do this. He was still trying to forgive Hopper for hiding Eleven for almost an entire  _ year _ without saying anything, but he’d wanted the man’s opinion. Also, he was kind of embarrassed about getting dating advice from El’s sort-of father.

“I, uh,” Mike stuttered, “I want to make tomorrow special for her. And I’m trying to think of somewhere special.”

Hopper snorted. “And you came to  _ me _ ?”

Mike felt his ears burning, but he nodded his head.

“Wow, kid. I’m surprised, but...you know she doesn’t really care where you take her, don’t you? She’d be thrilled just going to McDonald’s or something.”

Mike shook his head. “I’m not gonna take her to Mc _ Donald’s _ .”

“Good,” Hopper said, tapping his desk. “Somewhere special? Um…”

“I mean I know she hasn’t, you know...been out or anything,” Mike said, giving Hopper a look. “But...is there someplace that you know she likes? Or some _ thing _ that she likes?”

Hopper grinned. “You two spend all that time on the phone, and you don’t know what she likes?”

“She…” Mike rubbed his arm, he was beginning to think this was a mistake. “She doesn’t tell me  _ every _ thing.”

Hopper nodded. “Okay, well, the only thing I can think of is…” He paused, thinking. “Sometimes we would go for walks in the woods, and there’s this spot that she likes.”

“Yeah?” Mike asked, smiling and sitting up.

“Yeah. It’s a little ways into the woods. It’s this clearing, near a small river or pond or something. She always thought it was pretty there.”

“Can you show me where it is? Or make a map or something?”

Hopper grinned. “It’s not too hard to find. Just head behind the cabin, and walk until you see it.”

“Behind the cabin, walk until I see it,” Mike repeated quietly to himself.

“Anything else?”

“No, that’s it. Thanks,” Mike said, standing up.

“No problem, kid,” Hopper responded. He watched Mike leave, and felt a moment of...appreciation. He knew that he and Mike didn’t always see eye to eye, and he remembered how mad the kid had been when he’d found out Eleven had been hidden, right under his nose, for nearly a year.

But to be honest?

There wasn’t any other kid he’d want dating El. Mike Wheeler showed more determination and dedication than any kid his age should be capable of. Sure, he’d been through more things than most, but still…

Hopper knew how Mike felt for El, and how El felt for him. They were two peas in a pod.

 

While Mike was worrying, Eleven was on cloud nine. Because of her soap operas, she knew what a date was, and was curious to see if her date with Mike would be anything like it was on her daytime television programs: hand holding, soft whispers, longing looks…

She wanted to know if every date was like that; she’d learned quickly that not everything on TV is how it really was in the world.

She continued to wonder as such when Joyce came over that afternoon. Mrs. Byers had recently began tutoring El. Between Hopper’s math textbook and Joyce’s reading skills, the two were trying to get Eleven prepared for the fall.

“Can I...ask a question?” she’d asked Joyce when they’d taken a pause in their work.

“Of course, honey, anything,” Joyce had answered.

“What are...dates like?”

Joyce smiled. “Why, are you thinking about you and Mike’s date tomorrow?”

El blushed, ducking her head shyly. Still, she nodded her head.

“Well, if you’re with a really nice person, they can be great. It’s all about spending time with someone you really care about.”

“Someone you love?”

Joyce’s eyebrows raised. “ _ Love _ ?”

Eleven blushed; was she not supposed to say that? She heard the people on TV say it all the time. Embarrassed, she looked away.

“I’m sorry,” Joyce said, putting a hand on top of El’s. “I didn’t mean to react that way. Yes, you can go on dates with someone you love. But that’s usually for people that’re older. Do you...do you think you love Mike?”

Eleven shrugged her shoulders, not exactly sure if she was or not. Every time she’d heard that word used in it’s romantic context, Mike came to mind.

Joyce gave her a small smile, patting her hand. “You’ll know, someday. But a date is when you and the person you’re with go somewhere and talk, and get to know each other better. It can be a movie, a nice restaurant, or sometimes just sitting together and watching television.”

El nodded in understanding. If just watching television was a date, she and Mike had been on too many to count. “Is dating like it is on TV?”

Joyce chuckled. “It  _ can _ be. But a lot of stuff on TV is exaggerated.”

“Exager...ated?” she asked, trying out the word.

“It means they make things more than they are.” Joyce paused, thinking about the shows that Eleven watched during the day. Wanting to be truthful, and not wanting Mike to fail to meet extreme expectations, she added “They may not always be like they are on TV, but if you’re with the right person, it’ll be even better.”

El seemed to like that response and smiled.

“Shall we get back to work?” Joyce asked, happy that Eleven looked pleased. The girl picked up her pencil, and they returned to their studies.

 

That evening, Mike had his friends over as the group relaxed together in the basement. The rest of the party, of course, wouldn’t stop grilling him about his date with Eleven the next day.

“Where’re you guys going to go?”

“What’re you going to do?”

“Are you scared?”

Mike didn’t want to talk about it, but he thought he  _ could _ use some advice. After all, this was not only his first date ever, but it was his first date with Eleven.

Then again, his friends were not the most experienced people.

“I’m going to take her to this spot in the woods, and have a picnic,” he told them.

“A picnic?” Dustin asked. “Of all the places you could go, and you’re taking her on a picnic?”

“Shut up, Dustin,” Lucas said. Looking at Mike, he said “That might be cool.”

“Thanks.”

“Make sure you bring plenty of Eggo’s,” Max suggested.

“And a blanket,” Will said.

“For what?” asked Mike.

“To sit on,” Will said, stating the obvious.

“Oh, yeah.”

They watched some TV, and eventually the party began to disband. Will was the first to leave, with Lucas going home soon after, and Max following him; they all wished Mike good luck on tomorrow.

When it was just he and Dustin, Mike asked his friend, “Can I tell you something?”

“What?”

Wringing his hands, Mike said “I  _ am _ scared.”

Dustin chuckled. “About what?”

“What if she hates it? What if she doesn’t like this place in the woods anymore? What if she gets bored? Or figures out that  _ I’m _ boring?”

“Mike,” Dustin said, shaking his head. “This is  _ El _ we’re talking about.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you could sit in the woods and read the dictionary to her and she’d think it was fun because  _ you _ are doing it. All she cares about is being with you.”

Mike sighed. “Thanks. But...I mean, a picnic  _ is _ kind of...I don’t know, lame?”

Dustin shook his head. “I was just messing with you before. I actually think it’s kind of...I don’t know...sweet,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Thanks, Dustin.”

 

His friend’s words of encouragement were still in his mind as he made the trek up to the cabin the next day. His mom’s jaw had nearly dropped when he’d declined her world famous Memorial Day barbecue, saying instead he’d be spending the day with a friend.

“Who is she?” his mother asked, knowing.

He’d blushed, and answered “You don’t know them yet.”

“When do I get to meet her?”

“Soon,” he’d said before he’d scrambled away to get ready.

Now, as he got closer to the cabin, he got off his bike and began walking it through the woods. He was glad it was a nice day; barely a cloud in the sky, and it was warm, but not too hot. He’d settled for what he thought was a nice, collared short sleeved shirt and jeans. He hoped it was nice enough.

He thought back to his brief conversation with his mom. When  _ would _ he introduce El to his parents? And how would he introduce her? As his friend? As his girlfriend?

He wanted to ask El, today, if she’d be his girlfriend. In his mind she already was, but he wanted to make it official. He grinned, thinking of how Hopper would react.

The cabin finally came into view, and Mike felt butterflies take up residence in his stomach. Regardless, he lifted his bike over the tripwire and walked it to the steps before he climbed up to the door and did the secret knock.

Within seconds he heard the locks come undone, and the door was opened. Only except looking into the beautiful eyes and face of Eleven, he was looking up at the gruff expression on Hopper’s face.

“Come in, kid,” the chief said, taking a step to the side. “She’ll be out in a minute.”

Mike went in, looking around, as Hopper walked to a closed door and knocked. “Let’s go!” he called in.

“Just a minute!” was the response.

Turning back to Mike, Hopper quietly asked, “You remember how to get there, right?”

Mike nodded. “Behind the cabin, walk till I see it,” he recited.

“Yep. Now I’m going to be working, but the two of you need to be back by sundown. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Mike replied as the door to El’s bedroom opened.

She came out, looking shyly at Mike as he looked her over in her yellow sundress. She always looked pretty to him, but today she just looked so...the word  _ adorable _ came to mind.

“Pretty?” she asked.

“Beautiful. Gorgeous,” he responded.

She blushed, ducking her head as Hopper rolled his eyes. “Okay, you two. Go have fun,” he ordered.

Mike took El’s hand and led her outside.

Hopper watched from the door, shaking his head. Still in disbelief that El was going on her first date.

 

Eleven looked surprised as Mike stopped at the end of the steps, letting go of her hand to pick up the bike. She looked at it, confused; it wasn’t Mike’s. “Whose?”

“It’s Nancy’s,” he answered, looking embarrassed. “I needed a basket, and her old one had one.” 

“Basket for what?” she asked, trying to sneak a peek into the basket on the front of the bike.

He grinned. “It’s a secret. Come on, let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as they began walking away from the cabin. This wasn’t the way towards the road.

“It’s a secret,” he repeated.

The two walked on either side of the bike as they went deeper into the woods. Eleven looked around, curiously, as they walked, wondering where exactly they were headed.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, though, Mike was beginning to get frustrated that they hadn’t arrived at the spot yet.  _ Is this the wrong way? Was Hopper just messing with me? _

His fears were vanquished, however, as he began to see an opening through the trees up ahead and El, probably realizing where they were, began to smile. When they finally managed to get through the trees, they paused, as Mike looked around.

He could see why Eleven liked this place. It was quiet, save for the stream a few yards from where they were standing. Other than that, it was a decent sized grassy field. Sun shone through the trees, but they had some shade. It looked beautiful.

“How did you know?” she asked him.

He smiled, as the two continued their walk. “Hopper told me. I wanted to go somewhere special.”

She nodded her head. “Thank you.”

They made their way inward, and stopped just a few feet from the water, where the grassy field ended. Parking the bike, Mike dug in the basket on Nancy’s bike, pulling out the blanket and the goodies inside. Eleven watched with curiosity as he unfolded the blanket and pulled out a small bag. Placing the bag on the ground, he lay the blanket down.

After smoothing it, he looked up at her with a nervous grin. “I thought, uh, that we could have a picnic. Like, an outside date?”

She didn’t respond for a second, and he looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry. This was stupid. We can just…”

“Mike,” she finally said, cutting him off.

He looked up. “Yeah?”

Taking his hand, she smiled at him. “I love it.”

“You do?” he asked, hopeful.

She nodded her head.

His confidence back, Mike spent the next couple of minutes showing Eleven what food he’d brought. There were Eggo’s, of course. He’d toasted them before he left, but it didn’t matter to El; she’d have eaten them anyway.

They ended up sitting across from each other, Mike talking while Eleven munched on a waffle.

“I was making sandwiches,” he explained, “When I realized I didn’t know what kind you might like. So I brought two.” He pulled out two wrapped sandwiches. Eleven could see meat poking out of one of them, and a brown and purple something sticking out of the other.

Pointing at the second sandwich, she asked, “What’s that?”

“It’s PB & J,” he explained, grinning. “It’s probably my favorite. You’ve never had it before?” When she shook her head, he shrugged, handing her the sandwich. “You can see if you like it.”

She thanked him, and unwrapped it. Looking at it curiously, she brought one of the halves to her mouth and took a bite.

The disgusted look on her face almost made Mike start laughing; but not wanting to hurt her feelings, he instead smiled and asked “Not your favorite, huh?”

She shook her head, and put the half with the rest of the sandwich. She wiped her mouth, and Mike noticed a sad look on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

She sniffled, and said “Sorry I didn’t like it.”

He was confused. “It’s okay, El. We don’t have to like the same things.”

“But it’s your favorite.”

“It’s not my most favorite thing in the whole wide world,” he explained. “I have a few favorites.”

“You can have more than one?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Like, PB&J is my favorite sandwich, but it’s not my favorite thing to eat  _ ever _ . That might be pizza.”

She nodded, understanding.

“Like Eggo’s are probably your favorite thing to eat, but it’s not mine. And that’s okay. We don’t have to like the same things, El.”

“We don’t?”

“No,” he explained “Now I just know you don’t like peanut butter and jelly.” He shrugged. “It’s okay.”

She nodded, as he handed her the other sandwich and a can of Pepsi (he knew not to give her Coke). As he picked up her discarded sandwich, she said “Mike?”

“Yeah, El?”

“You’re one of my favorites.”

Mike could feel himself blushing all the way down to his toes. Still, he said back “El, you’re one of my favorites, too.”

 

After eating, the two decided to go for a walk. They walked next to the water, their hands touching every so often as they began their journey.

“I see why you like this spot,” Mike said.

Eleven nodded. “Pretty.”

They walked quietly for a bit, just enjoying the view and each other’s company, when Mike asked “So you really heard me calling to you?”

“Hm?”

“On the Supercom. All 353 days.”

“Not every day,” she admitted. “Not when I was in the woods. And not every day with Hopper. But….most days.”

Mike nodded.

“Why?”

“No reason.”

But she could tell he was hiding something, and took his hand in hers. “Mike? Friends tell the truth.”

He paused, and internally wished he hadn’t taught her that. “It’s nothing, just...I don’t know. There were some days that were hard for me, El. Days when it was difficult to call you because I...missed you too much.”

“Oh.”

“And I…” he sighed, wishing he would stop talking, “I...cried some days, because I missed you.”

She nodded, running a finger over his knuckles. “It was hard for me, too,” she said. “I cried.”

He looked up. “You did?”

She nodded again. “I missed you.” Touching his face, she said “I wanted to see you. For real. Not the void.” Smiling, she added “But I’m back, now.”

“Yeah,” he said, grinning. He pulled her closer, causing her to giggle, as he kissed her forehead before the two continued their walk, hands still clasped. “I still can’t believe Hopper had you all this time,” he said. “I always knew you were out there, but I never thought you’d be with  _ him _ .”

“Where did you think I was?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “There were sometimes I’d see a girl at school and think it was you, but it never was. One time, I even went to the quarry, and wondered if I jumped, if you’d save me.”

She stopped, tugging on his hand. “Mike! Why would you do that?”

He stopped too, surprised at the look of hurt on her face. “I didn’t jump, El. I just...I thought about it.”

She shook her head. “You shouldn’t have done that.” Tears began to form at the edges of her eyes.

“Hey,” he said, letting go of her hand and holding her face, wiping her tears with his thumbs. “I’m sorry. I...got in a bad place when you were gone, El. I wasn’t very happy. I needed you. But I didn’t mean to upset you; I wasn’t really going to jump.”

She nodded, sniffling. “I needed you, too.”

He smiled. “I’m sorry.”

She nodded, accepting his apology. They began to walk again, one hand finding the other once more. “I looked for you in the Upside Down,” she said.

“You did?”

“Yes. When I woke up, I called for you.”

He grinned. “And I was calling for you, too. I never thought you were so close.”

 

They eventually made their way back to the picnic spot, and settled onto the blanket next to each other. They lay next to one another, looking up at the clouds.

“What would you and Hopper do when you came out here?” he asked.

“Fishing,” she answered.

“Did you ever catch anything?”

She nodded. “More than Hopper.”

That made Mike laugh, as he pictured the chief of police struggling with a fishing pole. “I went fishing once,” he told her. “My dad took me and Nancy when we were little. I never caught anything, though.”

“Did Nancy?”

“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “That’s why we only did it one time. I caught a boot, though.” He chuckled at this, causing Eleven to chuckle, too, and before they knew it they were both laughing. El turned into him, muffling her giggles on his arm. When they’d finally calmed down, they both sat up, smiling at each other.

Their eyes locked, he said “I’m really glad you’re back, El.”

She smiled. “Me, too.”

There was something about the way she looked at him (or just the fact that she was El), but Mike felt himself instinctively move closer, and El did too. Before they knew it, their lips came together in a kiss. Pulling away after a moment, they smiled at each other, before they brought their mouths back together for another kiss that made Eleven feel tingly as she pulled herself even closer to Mike.

They pulled away again, catching their breath for a second before she went back in, putting her hands on Mike’s shoulders as she pulled herself closer, deepening the kiss. Mike’s hands went from El’s waist to her back as he attempted to close the gap as well.

After almost five minutes they pulled apart with one last kiss, both with dreamy and shy looks on their faces.

Eleven was the first to speak, asking “Mike?”

“Yeah, El?” he asked, considering kissing her again.

“Am I your girlfriend?”

His eyes widened, surprised by her question. “Uh...I don’t know.”

She frowned. “Oh.”

“No, El, I  _ want _ you to be,” he said, taking her hand. “I just didn’t get to ask you yet. Do you know what that is?”

She smiled, and nodded her head. “It means you’re my boyfriend. It means we’re...dating.”

He smiled. “Will you be my girlfriend, El Hopper?”

She smiled back, and leaned in, giving him one more lingering kiss. “Yes,” she whispered as she pulled away.

 

When the sun began its descent in the sky, the two began the walk back.

“I had fun,” El told Mike as they made their way through the woods.

“I’m glad,” Mike said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I was worried you wouldn’t like a picnic.”

“I...just wanted to be with you,” she admitted, taking his hand once more. He squeezed her hand, smiling.

Eleven thought back to what Joyce had said, that with the right person a date could be better than what she saw on TV, and she was right. This was better than she could have imagined. Still…

“Next time,” she asked, “Can we go somewhere in town?”

“Definitely,” he said, nodding. “The mall’s opening soon, we could go somewhere in there.”

She smiled.

The two kept walking, making conversation until the cabin finally came into view. Mike walked her to the step, where they stopped and turned to one another.

“Maybe next weekend, we can do another date?” she asked.

Mike nodded, smiling as he did so. “For sure.” He glanced up at the cabin, seeing the lights out. “Are you going to be okay here? Until Hopper gets back?”

“Yes,” she answered. “He will be back soon.”

“Oh. Okay. Well…” she cut him off, putting her arms around his neck as she kissed him. He sighed, putting his hands on her waist as he kissed her back.

They pulled away, and rested their foreheads on one another’s. “Thank you for the date, Mike,” she said softly.

“Thank you for saying yes, El,” he smiled.

A word crossed Eleven’s mind, that  _ love _ word, but she wasn’t sure if she should say it. Instead, she said “I’m glad you’re my boyfriend.”

Mike chuckled. “And I’m very happy you’re my girlfriend.”

She smiled, and they kissed once more.

“Goodnight,” he said, finally letting go.

“Goodnight,” she said back, frowning slightly.

“I’ll call you when I get home, okay?” he asked.

She nodded her head.

They both reluctantly turned from each other, Mike to head towards the road and Eleven to go inside the cabin. Though it was their first date, they knew there’d be plenty more to come.


	6. A Stupid Zoomer

_ I get why El was your mage now. _

_ What? _

_ Lucas. He told me all about her. _

_ Yeah, well, he shouldn’t have. And just because you know the truth doesn’t mean you’re in the party. You do know that, right? _

_ Yeah. I know. I mean, why would you want a stupid zoomer in your party anyway? I’m just saying, El? She sounds like she was awesome. _

 

It was a week after Mike’s date with Eleven, and the party (except the aforementioned girl) were in their usual spot-Mike’s basement-as they wrapped up their almost-last-of-the-year homework.

“One more week of this,” Lucas said as he stuffed his backpack.

“Jonathan says the homework is, like, ten times worse in high school,” Will commented. Looking to Mike, he asked, “Are you going up to see El today?”

Mike shook his head as he closed his notebook. “I can’t go on a school night.” He nodded at the Supercom that stood in the fort. “That’s why I’ve got that.”

“Who said that?” Lucas asked.

Mike paused, as he thought about it. “No one, really. But I still haven’t told my parents about El yet.”

Max, seated on the couch, scoffed. “You didn’t tell your parents about your telekinetic girlfriend? How do you even keep something like that a secret?”

“Hey, she was down here for a week and we kept that a secret,” Dustin added.

“It’s just got to be the right time,” Mike said. He started to bring up the fact that it’d taken Max awhile before she had introduced Lucas to her parents, but decided against it.

The walkie crackled, and Eleven’s voice came through, calling “Mike?”

Excitedly, Mike rushed over to the fort and scooped up the Supercom. “El? You there? Over.”

“Hi,” she said softly, bringing a smile to Mike’s face.

“Hi, El. How are you? Over.”

“Good,” she responded. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” he said. Looking up, he suddenly remembered he wasn’t alone, as his friends were in various phases of disgust as they rolled their eyes and pretended to gag. Turning his back to them, he said “Can I call you back in a few minutes? I…”

“Um….” she cut him off, surprising him. “Is Max there?”

“Uh…” Mike turned back to his friends, and could see the look of surprise on their faces that he was sure he wore on his own. “Yeah, she’s here, El. Why? Over.”

“Can I talk to her?”

“Okay, sure,” he responded, handing the walkie to a confused-looking Max.

The redhead took the walkie, gave a wary glance at Mike, then said “Hey, El.”

“Hi,” El breathed into the walkie. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Max said, still sounding uncertain. “What’s up?”

As Eleven began to talk, Max walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

“Ew,” Dustin said. “She’s going to talk to her while she uses the bathroom?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Mike said. “She probably just went in there for some privacy.”

“And don’t act like  _ you’ve _ never called us while you were on the toilet,” Lucas added.

“That was  _ one time _ ,” Dustin said.

“Why is El talking to Max?” Mike asked.

The other boys shrugged their shoulders. “Beats me,” Will said.

A moment later the door opened, and Max came out with a small grin on her face. She handed the walkie back to Mike.

“Everything okay?” Dustin asked.

“Yeah,” Max answered, putting her hands in her pockets. “She wants to hang out with me.”

She didn’t tell them much, just that she was going to take a trip up to the cabin this coming Saturday. Max didn’t make a big deal about it, brushing it off when the guys asked her for more. By the time everyone had packed up and was ready to leave, they’d dropped the topic.

However, as the group said goodbye, Lucas, Dustin, and Will were out the door with Max right behind them when she paused.

“You guys go,” Max called to them. “I’ll be there in a minute.” They mumbled a response, and then she turned back to Mike, who sat on his couch, walkie in hand, no doubt about to call Eleven.

“Hey, uh...Mike?” she asked, causing the freckled boy to look up.

“Yeah?”

“Um…” she took a few steps inside. “Can I ask you some things about El?”

“Uh….” Mike looked confused. “Okay, I guess so. Why?”

Max looked at her feet, and Mike tried to hold back a smile. He’d never seen her nervous before. “It’s just...Lucas told me  _ some _ things about her, but mostly about her powers and stuff, and how she saved you guys. What does she...I don’t know... _ like _ ?”

Mike failed at holding back his smile, and Max looked away, embarrassed. 

“I’m still figuring that out,” he answered. “She’s still kind of, like, new to the world, you know? I mean she knows some stuff, but there’s a lot of things she hasn’t experienced yet.”

“Well, we all know she’s experienced  _ you _ ,” Max said, grinning.

Mike’s cheeks heated up. “What does that mean?”

Max chuckled. “Nothing. Sorry. Just….” she sighed, and sat on the couch, causing Mike to move down some. “I want to be friends with her. And I don’t want to mess it up.”

Mike shook his head, the red on his cheeks dissolving. “She just wants to be friends. She still feels bad about how she treated you at first.”

Max nodded her head.

Mike took a moment, recalling how  _ he _ had treated Max at first. And though she was now a member of the party, he’d never really apologized himself. “And, uh... _ I _ feel bad about how I...treated you,” he mumbled. Max looked up at him.

“Are you trying to apologize, Wheeler?”

“Maybe,” he muttered.

Max smiled. “Yeah, well, save it. Because I’m gonna tell your girlfriend all  _ kinds  _ of stuff about you on Saturday,” she said, standing up.

“Whatever,” Mike said, rolling his eyes and picking the walkie back up.

Max walked to the door, and muttered “Thanks” over her shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” Mike responded. As she headed outside, he called “Don’t forget to bring Eggo’s!”

*

As much as Eleven loved hanging out with Mike (and she was beginning to believe that it was, in fact,  _ love _ ) she always wished she had another girl to do things with. After first meeting Mike, she had thought Nancy could feel that void. Then, after visiting Chicago she thought it would be Kali.

Never had she thought it could be Maxine Mayfield.

The redheaded girl, whom she’d disliked at first, had seemed an impossibility as a friend. El had thought, of course, that Max was getting a little too close to Mike. But now after the air had been cleared between the two, El saw a chance at having a new friend. Still, she felt bad about her initial behavior towards Max. Even after apologizing, a part of her still felt she should do more. She thought back to the conversation that had planted this idea:

 

A few days ago Mike had been over, and the two had sat on the floor of her bedroom as he attempted to show El how to play Monopoly.

Mike alternated between explaining the do’s and don’ts of the game while also talking about how excited he was that school would be ending soon.

“Even better,” he said, “I’ll get to see you more.” With a glance towards the open door where Hopper sat, he added “Hopefully.”

El smiled as she thought about the coming days. “I hope so, too.”

Mike smiled back. As he explained the importance of owning Boardwalk, Eleven interrupted, asking “Can I ask a question?”

Mike paused in his explanation and nodded his head. “Sure, El. Is it about the game?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s about Max.”

“Oh. Okay. Sure.”

Eleven fidgeted for a moment before she said “I want to be friends with her.”

Mike nodded his head, chuckling. “That’s not really a question, El. What’s wrong?”

“Well...I was mean to her, before. What if she doesn’t want to be friends?”

Mike raised an eyebrow. “I thought you guys were friends. I mean, she showed you how to skateboard. And you apologized?”

“Yes, but...does that mean we’re friends?”

Mike shrugged. “Beats me. Do you want me to ask her?”

“No,” she said, looking away and pulling her knees to her chest.

“El? What is it you want?” Mike asked, feeling concerned.

Eleven took a second to think about what she was tip-toeing around. Finally, she said “Do you think Max would want to...hang out...with me?”

“She might,” Mike said. “I mean, it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

 

So El had invited Max over with the hope of finalizing their friendship. Eleven didn’t know the girl too well, but was hoping by just spending time together, they could become good friends like the boys, or like some of the girls she saw on TV. She sometimes wondered if there was anything different about being friends with girls; was it just like it was with the boys? She was both eager and nervous to find out.

*

When Saturday finally came, Max stuffed a few things (skateboard included) into her backpack, and waited outside for Lucas to arrive. She was going to ride on the back of his bike until they got close to the cabin, at which point she’d skate the rest of the way.

She smiled when she finally saw him riding up the street, bike swinging left and right as he rode quickly.

“Took you long enough,” she joked as he slowed down in front of her.

“I told you, my mom made me do some chores,” he said when he came to a stop. “You ready?”

“Ready,” she said, getting onto the back of his bike. She put her hands on his shoulders and he pushed off, riding away.

“You do know where it is, right?” she asked after a minute.

“Kind of,” he answered.

“ _ Lucas… _ ” she said, annoyed.

“Relax. Mike told me which way to go, it should be fine.” They rode in silence for a few minutes until Lucas asked “So what’re you two going to do?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Max replied. “I brought some movies I like, maybe she’ll like them. Mike said she hasn’t seen a lot.”

“I take it you brought  _ Halloween _ ?”

“I may have…” she said with a grin. 

When they finally got to the edge of the woods, Lucas slowed down until he eventually stopped. Max climbed off. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, no problem.” Lucas saw the nervous look on her face. “You want me to go with you?”

“No,” she answered. “I’ll be fine.”

Lucas nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you in a few hours, then.” He kissed her cheek. “Have fun, Mad Max.”

“Thanks, Stalker,” she said, blushing as he pulled away. She watched him ride off, then turned and trekked into the woods.

She was a few minutes in when she realized that if Lucas had been wrong, she’d be stuck in the wilderness until she found her way out. Luckily he’d been right, as she saw a cabin up ahead of her, and the town’s chief of police standing on the porch, smoking a cigarette.

“Hey, chief,” she called as she got closer.

“Red,” he responded, nodding at her. He suddenly put a hand up, saying “Hold on, stop right there.”

Max paused, frowning. “What?”

“Look down.”

She did, and saw what appeared to be a wire less than a foot in front of her.

“It’s a tripwire,” Hopper explained. “Step over it, okay?”

Max carefully put one foot, then the other, over the wire until she was on the other side of it. She raised an eyebrow as she resumed walking, asking “What’s that all about?”

“Precautions,” the chief said, stubbing out his cigarette. “El!” he called inside. “Your friend’s here!”

Max made her way up the steps, and followed Hopper through the open door. She looked around; the cabin seemed... _ cozy _ ...but she couldn’t imagine how Eleven could live here for an entire year. No wonder she’d snuck out.

A door opened, and El came out, smiling. “Hi, Max.”

“Uh, hey,” Max said in return. “Thanks for, uh...inviting me over.”

Eleven’s smile grew. “Let me show you my room.”

Max nodded, and followed after her into the bedroom. It was still mostly bare, save for the usual-a dresser, nightstand. There was a teddy bear resting on the bed, and another, a small tiger, lay next to it. To be honest, Max thought it was kind of bare, but she could almost  _ feel _ how proud Eleven was about it, so she chose her next words wisely.

“It’s really nice,” she commented. El beamed at her response.

“Thank you.” Sitting on the bed, she added “Hopper says when we move my room will be bigger.”

“You guys are moving?”

“Yes,” Eleven said.

“Not for a while,” Hopper corrected from the next room.

Max smirked. “Has Mike been in here?”

El shook her head, frowning slightly. “Mike hasn’t seen my room yet.”

“Hm. How’d I get so special?”

“Hopper said it’s not…” she paused, trying to recollect the word, “Appropriate.”

“Oh. Yeah, my parents are kind of like that with Lucas.” Remembering her backpack, she said “I brought some stuff.”

El smiled, and she turned as Max took off her backpack and emptied it’s contents onto the bed. “Okay,” the redhead said, putting her skateboard on the ground. “I have some of my favorite movies... _ Halloween _ ,  _ A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Evil Dead _ …” she looked up and saw the confused look on Eleven’s face as she looked at the covers to each VHS.

Max grinned, and said “They’re not all scary. I brought  _ ET _ , too.” She pointed out the cassette, and Eleven picked it up, examining the cover. Max noticed El still frowning, so she offered “We don’t have to watch one of my movies. Is there something you want to watch?”

 

So Eleven moved the TV into her room. And, much to Max’s dismay, they began watching a soap opera El had taped earlier during the week. Max saw how captivated El was in the program, but she just couldn’t get interested. A few minutes in, Hopper came to the door to tell them he had to go into work for a little bit. He could see the discomfort on Max’s face, but decided not to say anything.

Once Hopper left, and about halfway through an episode of  _ General Hospital _ , Eleven seemed to notice Max’s boredom. Pausing the tape, she turned and asked “You don’t like it?”

“No, I do,” Max said, putting on a fake smile.

Eleven frowned. “Friends don’t lie.”

Max fought the urge to roll her eyes; it wasn’t the first time she’d heard the groups “golden rule.” “I don’t really like these kind of shows,” she admitted.

“Oh.” El looked down in disappointment. Truth be told, she’d been hoping that the two girls could bond over the show.

“But it’s okay, if you want to watch it, we can.”

Eleven shook her head, making her curls bounce sadly. As Max thought of what to say, Eleven seemed to do the same, and asked “What do you like?”

“Me?” Max was surprised by the question. “Well, um...I like scary movies,” she said, motioning towards the pile of horror films she’d brought. “And I like skateboarding, obviously.”

“And Lucas,” El added.

Color came to Max’s cheeks as she ducked her head, a smile coming to her face. “Yeah, and Lucas.”

Eleven smiled as well. “What else?”

“Um...I like Michael Jackson.”

El scrunched her eyebrows, confused. “Michael Jackson?”

Max’s eyes widened, surprised. “You don’t know who that is?”

Eleven shook her head.

“Oh my gosh,” Max said. She reached for her backpack, digging inside. She came out with a tape and gave it to El. Eleven squinted at it. “ _ Thrill...her? _ ”

“Thriller,” Max said, smiling. “It’s so good.”

El nodded, and put it next to her on the bed. “What else do you like?”

“Um…” Max thought a moment, and Eleven watched her cheeks turn a light hue of pink.

“What?” El asked, curious now.

Max sighed, embarrassed. “I like the Care Bears.”

“Care...Bears?”

“They’re these stuffed teddy bears with, like, pictures and stuff on their bellies.”

Eleven laughed, amused by this confession. “I know them!” she said, still laughing. “But I thought they were for little kids?”

“Well, kind of, but…” Max smiled, seeing how amused El was “You can’t tell  _ anyone _ ,” she said, pointing a finger at El.

Eleven’s laughter died down, but she still sported a smile on her face. “Lucas doesn’t know?”

“ _ No _ body knows, except maybe my mom,” Max admitted. “But for real, don’t tell Lucas, okay?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m...I don’t know, embarrassed about it.”

Eleven nodded. “I promise.”

Max nodded as well, knowing how serious the group took promises. Shaking her head, she added “How do you know about Care Bears but you’ve never heard about Michael Jackson?” When Eleven shrugged, Max added “I would think him having the same name as Wheeler would have you spinning.”

El didn’t exactly know what she meant, but she felt herself blush at the mention of Mike. 

“What is it about him?” Max asked.

“What?”

“Mike. What is it about him that you like?”

Eleven sighed as she smiled. Where to begin? “He’s nice,” she said. “And good, funny, smart, handsome. He makes me feel safe.”

Max nodded in understanding.

Eleven thought about adding  _ and I think I love him _ but didn’t say it.

Max pulled her feet together, so the two girls now sat criss-cross, facing each other. “What about you, El? Besides Mike, what are things you like?”

“Eggos,” Eleven answered. “Hopper. My friends. Puzzles. Drawing. Teddy bears,” she said, picking up one of the stuffed animals on her pillows, and holding it to her chest. “Dresses,” she continued. “Pretty stuff. TV.”

Max nodded, and pulled her legs to her chest as she looked down, a question on her mind. Picking up on her reticence, Eleven asked if something was wrong.

“I want to ask you something,” Max admitted. “But I don’t know if I should ask it.”

El frowned. “What is it?”

Max sighed, and put her legs down. “Lucas...he was the one that told me about you. He told me about how you saved them, saved Will. And how you fought that...thing.”

Eleven nodded.

“And Mike...he talks about you like you’re this superhero.”

Eleven smiled.

“But they never told me….I don’t know...what was it like? Living in that...place?”

Eleven frowned. “What place?”

“Hawkins Lab,” Max answered, nodding outside.

So Eleven spent the better part of the next hour telling Max about the lab; how she was forced to do experiments like crush Coke cans and “find” people. How they wanted her to hurt people and things, and how she refused to kill a cat; how whenever she refused to follow their orders she was thrown into a dark room.

She ended with the events of that day, almost two years ago, when she’d been made to locate the Demogorgon, and the events that had followed.

“Wow,” Max said when it was over. “I had no idea. That just…. _ wow _ .”

The two girls sat in silence for a moment before Eleven asked, “What about you?”

“Me? What about me?”

“Where were you before Hawkins?”

“Oh. California.” Max then proceeded to tell Eleven about life in California, and how much she missed it. When she talked about the ocean and the beaches, Eleven was amazed at how beautiful it all sounded. When Max talked about why she was in Hawkins, and her parent’s divorce, Eleven looked distraught.

“I’m sorry about your mama and papa,” she offered.

“It’s okay,” Max said, shrugging it off. “I didn’t want to move out here, to be honest. But, I mean, it’s nice now, I guess. I’ve got the party.” She noticed Eleven still looked upset, so she asked what was wrong.

“Your mama and papa,” El said, “Why don’t they like each other anymore?”

“I don’t know,” Max said, tossing her hands up. “Sometimes it just happens.”

Eleven got quiet for a moment. Finally, she asked “Do you think Mike...won’t ever like me anymore?”

Max snorted. “I doubt it. He’s probably more worried you won’t like him anymore, once you see some of the other boys in town.”

El shook her head. “Mike is the best. He’s my favorite.”

Max nodded. “I’m pretty sure you’re his favorite, too.”

Eleven smiled, satisfied.

Putting her legs down, Max nervously asked, “Um...could I see you do something?”

“What?”

“You know...with your powers.”

Eleven put the teddy bear she’d been holding down, and looked at Max’s backpack. Max watched her gaze intensify, and the next thing she knew, her backpack was floating in the air, off of the bed, and onto the dresser.

“That is so  _ cool _ ,” Max said. “No wonder you’re the mage.”

“Mage?”

“Mike. When he let it slip, about you. He was talking about the group and everyone’s...I don’t know...special rank or something, he said you were their ‘mage’.”

“What’s that?”

“Someone who does magic. It suits you.”

Eleven smiled, liking her nickname. “Mage,” she whispered to herself. Looking back to Max, she asked, “What’re you?”

“The zoomer,” Max said, proudly. “I go fast.”

“Zoomer,” Eleven repeated. “Cool.”

 

On his way back to the cabin, Hopper passed Lucas biking his way in the same direction, and gave him a ride. As the two made the walk to the cabin, Hopper stopped, hearing something in the darkness.

“What is it?” Lucas asked, afraid.

Hopper listened for a minute, then rolled his eyes when he placed it. “Jesus,” he muttered under his breath before he continued on. As Lucas followed, he felt a grin come to his lips as he recognized it, too:

_..cause this is thriller, thriller night. And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about to strike… _

Hopper and Lucas arrived at the cabin. The closer they got, the clearer the music became. Jim did the secret knock, and a second later locks were undone as he and Lucas made their way inside.

Originally, Hopper had been a little ticked that the music would draw attention to them. But he couldn’t help but smile as he saw the scene in front of him-the two girls had made a makeshift dance floor in the kitchen, as music played from the cassette player.

He tried to stifle a laugh as he stood in the doorway, watching Max trying to show Eleven how to dance. After a moment, he spoke up, saying “Well well well, what do we have here, huh?”

The two girls turned, and Eleven, smiling wide, said “Max is showing me how to dance.”

“I see that,” Hopper said, walking to the cassette player and turning down the volume. “It’s just a little loud, though.”

It was then that the two girls saw Lucas. After Eleven gave him a hug in greeting, Max went and gathered her things. She took the cassette from the tape player, but paused before she put it in her backpack. Instead, she turned to El and said “I’ll leave it with you.”

The brunette frowned. “But it’s your favorite tape.”

“It is. But how about you listen to it, and then next time we can talk about what songs you like.”

El nodded. “Thank you.”

Before Max knew it, Eleven had wrapped her in a hug. Max wasn’t necessarily a hugger, but she returned the embrace. “Thanks for inviting me over,” she told El as the two let go. “I had fun.”

“Me, too,” El said.

They said their goodbyes before Lucas and Max left. Walking through the woods as the sun set, Lucas took Max’s hand as she told him about her day.

*

The next day it was Mike’s turn to visit Eleven, and she regaled him with stories of her day with Max, even playing some “Thriller” music and attempting to get him to dance. In the end, the two ended up sitting side by side in front of the television, watching some cartoons. Eleven smiled knowingly when a commercial about the Care Bears came on.

“It sounds like you two are friends now,” Mike said about El and Max.

“Yes,” El responded happily.

“Just don’t forget about me,” Mike added, jokingly.

Eleven put her head on his shoulder and took his hand in hers. “Max is my new friend, but you’re still my favorite,” she said, kissing his cheek and making him blush.

“You’re my favorite, too, El,” Mike said, kissing the top of her head in return.

Eleven sighed, cuddling into Mike’s side as she turned back to the television. A boyfriend and a new friend? Life was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Care Bears were a group of children's toys/merchandise from the mid-80's. I'm not sure the time matches up, but it will for this story.  
> The next chapter probably won't be up until next month, as I'm going to be writing a short Halloween oriented series. Thanks for reading.


	7. The Black Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopper and Eleven go to see someone.

_Sometimes I feel like I’m, um….some kind of black hole or something._

_Black hole?_

_Yeah, it’s, uh, y’know, this thing in outer space. It sucks everything towards it and destroys it. Sara had a picture book about outer space, she loved it._

_Who’s Sara?_

_Sara? Sara’s my girl. She’s my little girl._

_Where is she?_

_Well, that’s kind of the thing, kid, she uh...she left us._

_Gone?_

_Yeah. The black hole. It got her. And somehow, I’ve just been scared, you know? I’ve just been scared that it will take you too._

 

The cruiser bumped along the road as Eleven looked out the window, watching the trees go past. She didn’t want to be here. Well, technically, she didn’t know where _here_ was. Over the past few days Hopper had seemed a bit more sullen, or cranky, than usual. Then today he’d looked different. She knew he had the day off, and he would usually just lie around in a tee shirt and jeans, but today he looked...nice. He wore a dress shirt and a pair of slacks, and his usually messy hair was straightened.

This morning, he’d been just about to leave when he’d turned around, and asked if she wanted to go somewhere with him. She’d been confused, but nodded, thinking they’d be back in no time.

But now it was literally two _hours_ later, and they were still driving. Where were they going? She had asked him where they were off to, but he’d just answered with “Somewhere.”

Not able to take it anymore, she asked “Are we almost there?”

Hopper sucked on his teeth. “Almost.”

Eleven huffed, as she turned her gaze back to the passing trees. She fidgeted with the blue hair tie around her wrist, covering up the “011” near her palm that Hopper had given her last winter. It had become a nervous habit of hers.

Probably sensing she was growing impatient, Hopper decided to cut the tension. “So how’re your friends doing?”

She glanced at him, surprised by his question. “They’re good.”

“I’m glad you and that, uh, redhead are getting along. What’s her name?”

“Max.”

“Yeah. It’s good for you to have some girls for friends.”

She frowned. “Why can’t the boys be my friends?”

“I didn’t say they couldn’t, El, I’m just saying, with a girl, you know...you have more in common.”

She shook her head. “We don’t have a lot in common.”

Now Hopper huffed. “Never mind.” The car got silent for a bit, until he asked “So, your friends ready for school to be out in a couple of weeks?”

Eleven smiled and nodded. “Yes. So am I. Mike is already talking about things we can do.”

“Like what?”

“Go to the pool, to the mall. And I get to see them more.”

He nodded.

“When do _I_ get to start school?”

“In the fall,” he answered. “The beginning of September. Three months from now.”

A few minutes later they pulled off the highway, and Eleven’s attention drifted back to the world outside her window. They were in another city, that was for sure. But there were more buildings, more cars, and more people. _Not quite Chicago_ , she thought, _but more than Hawkins_. “Where are we?” she asked Hopper.

“The city,” he answered. “Indianapolis.”

“Indianapolis,” she whispered to herself.

“I used to live here,” he said, more to himself than to Eleven. “Years ago.” She nodded, eyes still taking in the big city.

The ride was silent for the next few minutes, El’s eyes never turning from the view, until they turned off the road and pulled into a parking lot near a big field. Eleven turned to Hopper, curious as to what the next move was, and followed him when he climbed out of the car. “This is somewhere?” she asked.

“Yep, this is somewhere,” he said as he grabbed flowers from the backseat. “Come on.”

She followed him as he headed up a set of small steps that led to the field. It was then she noticed the small gray pillars coming out of the ground. Some, but not all, had flowers near them. Each one that she saw had a name and some numbers on them. Pausing for a second, she looked at one that read

 

_Abigail Rhodes_

_Beloved Mother and Wife_

_December 12 1922-June 27 1979_

 

Eleven didn’t understand; what was this place?

“Come on,” Hopper, a few feet ahead of her, called. She turned and caught up to him.

“What is this place?” she asked when she got next to him.

Hopper cleared his throat before he answered, saying “A cemetery.”

“What’s a cemetery?”

“It’s a place where, um...they put people who’ve passed away.”

She thought for a moment. “Gone?”

“Yeah, kid. They’re gone.”

“Oh.” El felt a rush of sadness come over her. “Why are we here?”

“I’m here to see someone.”

They walked a few more paces before he stopped in front of a small patch near a tree. Hopper knelt in front of the stone pillar, and carefully put the flowers down. Eleven tried to see the name on this one, but Hopper was blocking the way.

“Hey, Sara,” he finally said as he stood back up. “It’s dad.”

El’s eyes widened as realization hit her; the grumpiness during the last few days, and the sudden nice attire made sense now.

“Happy birthday, sweetie,” he said. “I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve been back; it’s...things have been busy. Um…”

Eleven walked closer, standing next to him.

“I miss you, Sara. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you, and how amazing a life you would’ve had, and…” He sniffled. “And how amazing a life you gave me.”

He let out a sigh. “I, um...I brought someone I wanted you to meet.” Eleven saw him glance her way for a second before he continued talking. “This is El. She’s, uh...she’s come to stay with me.” He chuckled. “She’s a Hopper now.”

Eleven took Hopper’s hand and squeezed it.

They both stood there for a few seconds; Hopper thinking of what to say while El debated whether or not she should say anything when there was the sound of leaves crunching behind them. They both turned, and saw a blond woman slowly approaching them; her eyes darting between Hopper and Eleven as she held flowers in front of her.

“Jim,” the woman said.

“Diane.”

“I…” She stole another curious glance at Eleven, before turning her eyes back on Hopper. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”

“It’s her birthday, Diane,” Hopper said. “Of course I’m going to be here.”

The woman nodded and made her way over, casting another look at Eleven before looking at the stone in front of them.

“This, uh,” Hopper said, “Is Jane.”

“Nice to meet you,” Eleven said, remembering her manners.

Diane gave a small smile to Eleven, and nodded at her. “Hello.” Glancing at Hopper, she asked “Is she…”

“She’s with me,” he answered.

Diane seemed to accept that, and moved forward to the stone. Stooping down, she placed the flowers she carried on the ground. Before standing, she reached into her jacket pocket and placed a small toy onto the top of the pillar.

“Hi, honey,” the woman said as she stood. “It’s mommy. Happy birthday, baby.” Taking a step back she continued, saying “I really miss you. I…” She paused, and took a deep breath.

“El,” Hopper said quietly.

Eleven looked at Hopper as he jerked his head, nodding a few feet away. Confused, she followed him as he walked a few feet.

“What?” she asked when they’d stepped away.

“Nothing. “We’re just giving her some space.”

Eleven looked back to the woman, who was talking to the stone in a quiet voice. “Who is she?”

“That’s Diane, my ex-wife.”

“Ex-wife?” Eleven wasn’t familiar with that term.

“We used to be married,” he explained.

Putting two and two together, El asked “Sara’s momma?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Sara’s momma.”

“Why do we have to give her some space?”

“Um…” he stammered, searching for words, “Privacy. We’re giving her some privacy.”

They looked over, and saw Diane was back to kneeling by the stone, talking quietly. “Why?”

“Just cause, kid.”

Diane stood, and Hopper began to walk back over with Eleven a few steps behind him.

“Hey,” Diane said, wiping at her eyes.

“Hey.”

“I’m sorry about before; I know you’d never forget her birthday. I was just...thrown off, I guess, at seeing you with…” she glanced at Eleven.

“Jane,” Hopper said.

“Right; Jane.” Looking nervous, she looked back at Jim and quietly asked, “Can we talk?”

“Yeah,” Hopper said, nodding. Looking over his shoulder, he said “El? Wait here a minute.”

The young girl nodded as the adults stepped away.

 

“I thought her name was Jane,” Diane commented once she and Hopper stepped off.

“What?”

“You just called her El. I thought…”

“It’s a nickname,” Hopper said.

Crossing her arms, Diane asked “Who is she? Is she your…”

“My what?”

“You know, do you...have another daughter I didn’t know about?”

Hopper looked over at Eleven, who was standing, hands in her pocket, looking at Sara’s headstone, “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean...not biologically at least. She was in a tough situation, and I took her in. I’ve been helping her, and she...she’s been helping me, too.”

“Hm,” Diane said, looking over at the curly-haired girl. “Good for you, Jim.”

Hopper scratched the back of his head. “Yeah. So, uh...where’s Bill?”

“Lisa’s sick,” she said, referring to her young daughter. “But he, uh...he knew how important this is for me, so…” She sniffled. “How’s Hawkins?”

Hopper chuckled. “Same old, same old.”

Diane nodded, and wiped at her eyes once more. “She would’ve been thirteen years old today, Jim.”

“I know.”

“I see all of these...teenagers around, and I just….I miss her even more.”

“Yeah,” Hopper said, nodding. “Me, too.”

She started to cry quietly, and Hopper wrapped an arm around her, comforting her. As he did so, he noticed Eleven stooping near Sara’s grave, saying something quietly.

When the vigil was finished, Hopper and El walked Diane back to her car.

“We were going to go to Mack’s,” Hopper said when they arrived at Diane’s station wagon. “You want to come?”

Diane smiled, remembering something, but shook her head. “Thanks, but not thanks. I’ve got to get back to Lisa.”

Hopper nodded. “Of course. Well, um...tell Bill I said hi, okay?”

“I will.” Diane looked over at Eleven. “It was nice meeting you.”

El smiled. “It was nice meeting you, too.”

Diane and Hopper turned to one another. “You take care of yourself,” he said.

She smiled. “You too, Jim.”

He held the door for her, and she climbed in. The two said goodbye once more, then Hopper closed the door for her before she drove off.

 

Hopper and El took a drive down the road to Mack’s, a small diner in downtown Indianapolis.

“This was Sara’s favorite,” he explained as they entered the establishment. “They have some of the best milkshakes you’ve ever had.”

They found a booth and sat, and were greeted minutes later by Mack himself, who knew Jim from his yearly tradition.

After the two men exchanged pleasantries, Hopper introduced Mack to Eleven, referring to her as El.

“So nice to meet you,” Mack said. “If you two need anything, just let me know.”

“Thanks, Mack,” Hopper said before the man walked off.

Eleven picked up a menu and looked it over; Hopper did the same a moment later. “What’re you hungry for, kid? They don’t have waffles, so you’re out of luck there…”

El scanned the menu she held, looking for something. Finding it, she pointed at it. “Hamburger.”

Hopper nodded. “They’re pretty good.”

She found the drink page, and looked over the “best milkshake” choices. “Which one did Sara like?” she asked.

He looked up. “What?”

“What was her favorite shake?”

“Oh, uh...they took it off the menu.”

She shrugged, and decided she’d get a vanilla milkshake.

Their waitress came and took their order, and when she left, Eleven tugged on the blue hair tie that adorned her wrist.

“What’s wrong?” Hopper asked.

“Nothing,” she said, putting her hands in her lap.

“You only play with that thing when you’re worried. What’s got you worked up?”

A pause, then “How come you never talk about her?”

“Who?”

“Sara.”

“Hm.” Hopper leaned back in the booth, shrugging his broad shoulders in the process. “I don’t know. I guess it’s…”

“The black hole?”

“What?”

“The black hole,” she repeated. “Destroys everything.”

He chuckled. “You remember that, huh? That’s...part of it, I guess. I don’t know.” He shook his head. “Days like today? They’re hard, kid. Remembering what could’ve been. I guess it’s just hard for me to talk about.”

Eleven touched the hair tie, causing Hopper to think about something. “Hey…”

She looked up. “What’d you say? At Sara’s grave? When I was with Diane.”

El shook her head. “Private.”

Hopper grinned. “If you say so.” She was still fidgeting with the bracelet, so he asked “Now what’s wrong?”

“Can you tell me? About Sara?”

So Hopper spent the next hour telling Eleven stories about Sara. What started out as tales of his daughter soon grew to include the entire life he had in Indianapolis with Diane. He told her stories that made Eleven smile, imagining Hopper being a caring dad to a toddler. He talked about the hair ties-a story El had heard before but always loved hearing about. The fact that he’d given one to her made her feel even more like family.

He talked about that day at the park, when he noticed something was wrong, and the sad days in the hospital. By the end of the stories, both Eleven and Hopper were wiping at their eyes.

“That was my Sara,” Hopper finally said, as their waitress cleared their plates, save for the two milkshakes-vanilla for El, strawberry for Hopper-the pair were still nursing. Eleven had to agree, the milkshakes were delicious.

Finishing hers off, El repeated her earlier question, asking “Which milkshake was her favorite?”

“Oh, uh...strawberry.”

She frowned. “But you said…”

“I know, kid. I just...I didn’t want you to feel like you had to order it. So...I lied.”

“Friends don’t…”

“Lie, yeah, I know. Sorry.” He slid over the nearly empty shake. “You wanna try?”

She accepted the cup, and took a quick sip of the thick drink. “Good,” she said. “But vanilla’s better.”

Hopper smirked. “I always said that to Sara.”

 

Soon after they were off, back down the highway to Hawkins as the sun fell in the sky. Eleven watched the city and it’s buildings eventually fade away in favor of trees and small businesses.

“I’ll bring you back some day,” Hopper told her. “I promise.”

Eventually they arrived in their small town, and made the drive through the woods until they reached the cabin.

“Sorry I kept you from your friends today,” he said to her as they walked through the woods.

El shook her head, and answered “That’s okay. I’m glad I came.”

Hopper playfully tussled her hair, causing her to smile.

They made their way inside. Hopper fell onto the couch, grabbing the remote and flicking on the television. Before she went into her room, Eleven paused.

“You’re not a black hole,” she said.

Hopper turned down the TV. “What?”

“You’re not a black hole,” she repeated. “You don’t destroy things.”

He shook his head. “El, that’s sweet, but…”

“You’re a good papa. You were good to Sara, and….you’re good to me. Nothing is going to destroy me.”

Hopper sighed, but Eleven was glad to see a smile make its way to his face. Standing up, he walked over and hugged her, kissing the top of her head. “Thanks, kid,” he said into her hair.

She smiled at him, started to say something, then stopped herself.

“What is it?”

“Sara,” she said, looking down. “At her...brave…”

“Grave.”

“Yes. I told her I wish I could have met her. And I said…” she looked up at Hopper. “I said I will take care of you.”

Hopper smiled, and wrapped her in a hug again. Quietly, he said “Thanks, El. I’m gonna take care of you, too, kid; okay?”

“Okay,” she said, nodding.

He let go of her and, after giving him one more smile, she disappeared into her room. Hopper grinned, and sat on the couch. _She’s something else_ , he thought to himself as he turned up the volume.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mileven fluff coming next chapter.


	8. Wish You Were Here

_ It’s day 353. I had a bad day today. I don’t know. I guess I wish you were here. _

 

“I don’t want you to go,” Eleven said, hugging Mike tightly and sniffling into his shirt.

“I don’t want to go, either,” Mike responded as he hugged her back. “But it’s only two weeks.”

School was over, and both were unhappy to learn that Mike was going off to visit his grandparents in Michigan for two weeks.

“Two weeks is too long,” her muffled voice said into his shirt.

“It’ll be over before you know it, El.” She sniffled again, then pulled back some, so they were face to face. Mike wiped at her eyes. “We did 353 days,” he told her. “We can do 14.”

She nodded, and put her forehead on his. “I’ll miss you,” she said quietly.

“I’ll miss you too.”

“Mike, come on! We’ve got to get going!” Nancy called from the treeline. He’d been able to talk his sister into bringing him up to the cabin before the family made the drive in a few hours. She wanted to say goodbye to Jonathan, and Mike had tagged along under the pretense of saying goodbye to Will-which he’d still do, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to see El one more time.

“I’ll call you when I can,” Mike whispered. El nodded, and the two leaned forward to share a kiss.

“Bye,” she said when they pulled apart.

“Bye,” he said back. With one last look at his girlfriend, Mike went off to catch up with his sister.

 

He was in a gloomy mood for most of the rest of the day. They stopped off so Nancy could say goodbye to Jonathan, and Mike wasn’t as friendly as he could’ve been with Will. It didn’t get any better when the Wheeler family loaded up the station wagon for the 4 hour trip to Kalamazoo, MI. 

_ We did 353 days. We can do 14 _ , he repeated to himself. He’d said it to make El, as well as himself, feel better. But after that year apart  _ any _ day without her was too long. He wished he wasn’t going. He wanted to spend El’s first, real, summer here in Hawkins with her: enjoying the lazy days, watching the sun set, and going to the local pool. Not to mention the mall that was supposed to open up any day now.

He leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes for a moment. 

“What’s with you?” Nancy asked. The Wheeler children sat in the backseat, Mike behind his mom, Holly in the middle, and Nancy behind their dad who was driving.

“Nothing,” he answered, keeping his eyes closed.

Nancy smirked. “There’s always the phone, Mike.”

“I know…”

“And it’s only two weeks. The world’s not going to end in two weeks.” They were talking quietly; Mike’s parents still didn’t know about El. ( _ something he knew he needed to fix, but not at this moment _ ).

Eventually the drive was over and they arrived at their grandparents house. There were hugs given, cheeks pinched, and lots of  _ you’re getting so big, Michael. And Holly! Last time I saw you I could hold you in my arms! _ before everyone had settled in. On a trip to get a drink of water, Mike saw that there was something odd about the telephone on the wall.

“Grandpa?” he asked. His grandparents were at the table playing a card game with his dad.

“Yes?” his grandfather responded.

“What’s wrong with the phone?”

Mike’s grandfather shook his head. “It’s the darndest thing. The blasted thing just up and stopped working a few days ago. Gonna have to get a new one.” Glancing outside, he added “We’ve been using the Johnson’s phone next door.”

Mike’s face fell. _A broken phone?_ _How was he supposed to talk to El?_ As upset as he’d been about being away for two weeks, the thought of calling her on the phone had lifted his spirits. But now?

He sulked into the next room, where Nancy and Holly sat, the older sister helping the younger one with a puzzle.

Immediately, Nancy saw something was wrong. “Now what?”

“The phone is broken,” he said, plopping into a chair. “How does that even happen?” Upset, he closed his eyes.

Nancy shrugged. “Just bad luck, I guess.” Seeing her brother needed a pick me up, she said “Why don’t you write her a letter?”

Mike opened his eyes. “You mean, like a postcard or something?”

“Yeah. Besides, it’d give her some reading practice.”

Mike felt himself brighten up a little at that. It wasn’t the same as actually being with El, but it was close. When the family went into town that night, Mike bought a handful of postcards, each with a different picture on it. He got started writing as soon as they got back to his grandparents.

 

Eleven, meanwhile, spent the next few days moping around the cabin. She was still happy that she got to see her other friends, but everyone with eyes could tell that being apart from Mike was killing her.

“It’s only for two weeks, ” Max had told her after day two.

But El had shaken her head, saying “Too long.”

On the morning of day four, Hopper was getting ready to go to work after he and El had had their morning breakfast. And even he was getting sick of the sad-show.

“Kid, he’s gonna be back before you know it,” he told her.

“What’s  _ that _ mean?” she asked, a hint of an attitude in her voice.

“It means he’ll be back soon. You two will have all summer together.”

Eleven nodded, but it didn’t really make her feel any better. She wanted  _ Mike _ . She had been so happy when Hopper had told her she could leave the cabin regularly, and even  _ happier _ that it coincided with her friends getting out of school for the summer. Which meant more time in the sun, more time being with friends, and more time with Mike.

And then he’d found out he would be gone for two weeks.

_ Ugh _ .

 

For once, Hopper was happy to be at work instead of at home. He loved El, but she was driving him insane with all of this “I miss Mike” nonsense. The kid was acting like he’d be gone all summer, and as if they’d never been apart before. Yes it hurt him to see her like this, but he was losing his patience.

Walking into the station, he said hi to Powell and Callahan, and grabbed a donut and a cup of coffee. He was passing by Flo’s desk when she said “Chief, you’ve got some mail.”

Jim paused, he never got any mail at the station; he barely got any mail outside of the station, either.

“Who’s it from?”

Flo was typing something, and she slid the small card towards him. “Someone named ‘Mike Wheeler’.”

Oh, Jesus, Hopper thought as  he scooped up the postcard.

 

Eleven spent the day watching television, thinking of Mike, and talking to her friends on her walkie. Apparently they were going to go out and get ice cream that evening, and El was looking forward to that.

She kept wondering when Mike would call; it’d been four days and she hadn’t heard anything from him. A scary thought ran through her head, where he was out on a beach and a blonde girl with long hair walked up to him and swept Mike off his feet, making him forget all about the her, the weirdo in a cabin.

She didn’t like those thoughts.

Instead she tried to think of all the fun things they could do when he came home, all of the lazy days sitting on the couch, going on another date. And for today, she tried to just think about ice cream.

Hopper wouldn’t be back till late, so she sent him a Morse Code telling him she was going out. Will arrived in the late afternoon to give her a bike ride into town.

“How’s it going?” he asked as she climbed on the back of his bike. She still didn’t have one of her own yet; and as much as she was glad for the ride, it wasn’t the same as riding on Mike’s.

“Good,” she answered unenthusiastically.

“You don’t  _ sound _ good,” he said as he began to pedal into town. “Still missing Mike?”

“Yes.”

“And he hasn’t called yet?”

“No.”

“Well...he’s probably just been busy. I know when we go to see my family, we’re always doing stuff. Just give it another day, I bet you he’ll call.”

Eleven smiled. It’d taken some time for she and Will to become friends, but she was glad they were. Besides Mike, he was the group’s best listener. “Thanks, Will.”

When they arrived in town they met up with the rest of the group at Hawkins’ ice cream shop. The party told stories about how they were spending the first few days of their summer break-sleeping,  _ lots _ of video games, time at the arcade, and just enjoying their time off.

“El, you gotta come swimming with us,” Dustin said. “We’re going on Saturday.”

She didn’t respond right away, then said “I told Mike I would go with him.”

“Aw, he wouldn’t care,” Dustin argued.

“Do you know how to swim?” Max asked.

El shook her head. “No.”

“We could teach you,. Then you could surprise Mike when he comes back.”

Eleven nodded, liking the idea but not liking the idea of going without Mike.

When the ice cream was finished, the group took a trip to the arcade. Eventually El knew she needed to get home for dinner with Hopper, and Max volunteered to give El a bike ride home.

“I like your bike,” El said as she rode on the back of her friend’s blue two-wheeler.

“Thanks,” Max said, but didn’t sound like she meant it. “I like my skateboard better, but this gets me around town faster.” After a beat, she asked “How’re you doing? You know, with Wheeler gone?”

“I’m okay,” El answered, feeling a little better now that she’d gotten out of the house. “How are you and Lucas?”

“We’re good. I had dinner with his family last week. My mom keeps asking for Lucas to come over for dinner, but...with Billy, and Neal….I’m not in any rush.”

Eleven frowned, feeling bad for Max, but also thinking how she hadn’t met Mike’s family yet (not officially, anyway). “I haven’t met Mike’s parents,” she said as they neared the cabin.

Max chuckled. “I don’t think he knows how to tell his folks about you. ‘Mom, Dad? Remember that girl the government was looking for, the one they said was dangerous? Yeah, well, she’s my girlfriend now’.” She shook her head. “I don’t think they’d get it.”

“Get what?”

“How cool you are. How Mike is, like, in love with you.”

El blushed.

They got to where Hopper’s jeep was parked, and the two girls said goodbye. Eleven made the hike to the cabin and found Hopper at his usual spot, on the couch with a beer in his hand as the television played.

“Hey,” he said, looking over his shoulder as she came in. “You have fun?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Good. Dinner’ll be ready in an hour. But, uh, you got some mail.”

She looked up. “Mail?”

“Yeah.” He stood up, and brought her the postcard.

She looked it over, staring at the picture of Lake Michigan. “What is it?”

“Turn it over,” he said.

She did, and a big smile came to her face when she recognized Mike’s messy handwriting. “Mike!” she said.

She saw Hopper’s name on the side, and looked confused. Hopper explained how one half of the postcard was a letter to her, but how Mike had addressed it to Hopper, more than likely since the cabin wasn’t on any mail route.

Eleven, still smiling, took the card into her room and plopped on her bed as she began to read Mike’s tiny print.

 

_ Dear El, _

 

_ Sorry I couldn’t call. My grandparents’ phone is broken! I’m so mad! But Nancy said maybe I should write to you. So how are you? I don’t know when this will get to you, but I hope you can write me back. I’ve only been here for a day but I’m kind of bored. I can’t believe I’d ever say this but I miss Hawkins (probably because you’re there). I really miss you, El, and I can’t wait to see you again. How is your summer so far? I got a few postcards and I’ll try to write you tomorrow or the day after. _

_ Wish you were here,  _

_ Mike _

 

The next thing Hopper knew, El was back in the room, saying “I have to write to Mike.”

 

*

 

It was two days later at his grandparents, and Mike’s spirits were higher. Yes, he wished he was back in Hawkins, but he was making the most of this vacation. The day after he sent El’s postcard, the family had made a trip to Lake Michigan, and he’d gone swimming. Yesterday they’d gone to Sherman’s Dairy, an ice cream store he’d loved the last time the family visited.

He’d written and sent another postcard to El, and was wondering if she was going to write back. He didn’t mind if she didn’t; for all he knew Hopper may not even be receiving them. He just wished he could talk to her somehow.

His worries were alleviated when he went to breakfast. His parents were at the table, his mom feeding Holly. Nancy was still in the process of getting up, and his grandmother was flipping through mail.

“Mike, you got something,” his grandmother said, looking curiously at an envelope.

“Who would be sending you mail here?” his mother asked.

“The name says it’s from…” his grandmother squinted at the name, “Lucas Sinclair?”

“Why is your friend sending you stuff?” his mom asked.

“Uh...he, uh...I asked him to send me some ideas for our next campaign,” Mike lied. He took the envelope from his grandmother. “Thank you. I’ll be right back!” He ran into the next room and opened the letter, wondering why Lucas would be sending him anything. He was surprised, though, when he saw El’s pretty handwriting:

 

_ Dear Mike, _

 

_ Hi! Thank you for writing. Hopper said not to write you with my name, so Lucas said I could use his. How are you? Are you having fun? I am having a little fun but I would have a lot of fun if you were here. I miss you so much! I started counting days until you get back. Today there is 10 days left. Today we got ice cream and this weekend Dustin wants to see the Goonies movie. What is a Goonie? I asked Hopper but he didn’t know, either. Will you write me back? I hope you do. I miss you (did I say that?) _

_ Love, El _

 

Mike smiled as he read and reread the letter, reading it with El’s voice in his head. And did she really sign it  _ Love, El _ ? He knew he was blushing, but honestly he didn’t care. He started to go begin on a third postcard, but decided he should probably eat first.

A big smile on his face, he went back into the kitchen.

“Everything okay?” his mom asked.

“Yep,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “Everything’s fine.”

 

After the first postcard, everytime Hopper came home El was asking if another one had arrived from Mike. She’d spent every day rereading Mike’s words, hearing his voice in her head as she did so. A day after she’d sent hers, another came, telling her about some of the things he was doing. It didn’t reference her letter at all, which made her sad until Hopper explained the way the mail system works. She felt a little better knowing Mike had probably written his second before she’d sent her first.

A week before Mike was to return she got another postcard from him.

 

_ Dear El, _

 

_ I got your letter! That was smart to use Lucas’s name. I was so confused when I got the letter, but as soon as I saw the writing I knew it was yours. I’m glad you’re having fun. It’s beginning to get fun here. We’ve been down to the beach, and we got ice cream too. I really wish there was a beach in Hawkins, I’d love to show you a lake or an ocean. Maybe next time you could come with us (would Hopper allow that?) The Hawkins community pool will have to do. I’m not sure when you’ll get this, but it’s almost a week away until we can see each other. I can’t wait. _

_ Wish you were here, _

_ Mike _

 

_ P.S. I think a Goonie is the name of the group in the movie. We’re a “party?” They’re a goonie (I think). _

 

_ P.P.S. I miss you. _

 

*

 

_ Dear Mike, _

 

_ I’m glad you’re having fun. What’s the beach like? I talked to Max about it and she told me about the beaches in California. She made them sound beautiful. Is yours beautiful? I wish I was there, too. I don’t know if Hopper would let me come. Should I ask him? I really want to go to the pool with you. Maybe the day after you come home? It’s less than a week until I get to see you again. I wanted to come see you when you got here but I thought I might scare your mama and papa. We saw the Goonie movie, it was good. How is Nancy? I miss you and I can’t wait to see you. _

_ Love, El _

 

Mike loved El’s latest letter, but something in her letter stuck with him:  _ I wanted to come see you when you got here but I thought I might scare your mama and papa. _

He and El had never talked, really, about her meeting his parents. He knew it was going to happen sometime over the summer. But how to do it? Was it safe? Part of him worried that his mom and dad would recognize El from the pictures they’d seen. Would they turn her in? He didn’t think so, honestly. El had changed a lot from the picture the government people had shown. And he couldn’t picture his mom calling the police on El, and his dad...his dad probably wouldn’t recognize her.

But still, there was the danger. And he didn’t want to put El in harm’s way. The thought of losing her was more than he could bear.

Then again the lab was closed, the government people had left Hawkins, and El was now able to have a mostly normal life ( _ she’d be going to high school with him, for Pete’s sake _ ). And he knew both the chief of police and the rest of the party would never let anything bad happen to her.

Besides, his parents were sure to run into him out with her  _ some _ time. He realized he’d only been delaying the inevitable.

So he grabbed his last postcard and wrote a short letter to her. Then, putting it on his pillow so he’d remember to send it in the morning, Mike went out to the front porch where his parents were. His mom was flipping through a magazine while she sipped from a glass of wine; his dad was reading a newspaper.

Mike nervously knocked, getting their attention.

“Hey there,” his mom said, smiling. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Um...mom? Dad? Can I talk to you about something?”

His mom put down her wine glass, and his dad slowly began to fold the newspaper. “Sure, honey,” his mom said,  “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Mike said, shaking his head. “I just...there’s someone I want you to meet.”

 

*

 

The day before Mike was to come back, Eleven got another postcard from him, this one shorter than the last two:

 

_ Dear El, _

 

_ I’m glad you’re having fun, too. The beach is nice here. Someday we will go to one together, I promise. _

_ I’m hoping you get this before I get back to Hawkins. Can you come over on Friday? We should be back around 5:00. _

_ See you soon, _

_ Mike _

 

She frowned after reading it; she had loved hearing about what went on in the world outside of Hawkins. At the same time, however, she was giddy with the fact that not only would Mike be back tomorrow, but he wanted her to come over as well.

 

Friday came, and El spent a big chunk of the day at the Byers’ home, getting some tutoring from Joyce and drawing with Will. When 5:00 rolled around, though, only one thing was on her mind:

“Mike.”

“Yeah, I know,” WIll told her. “Let’s go.”

She rode on the back of his bike, with El wanting to say  _ faster! Faster! _ She was full of nervous energy (Mrs. Byers had called them butterflies) about seeing Mike after fourteen days.

When they arrived at the house at the end of Maple Street, Will began to go around to the back of the house, but instead he stopped when he saw Mike sitting outside of his house.

“Mike!” El called, jumping off the bike before Will had come to a full stop. Mike stood as well, a big smile on his face as El ran into his arms, her head resting on his chest.

“I missed you,” he whispered into her hair.

She sniffled, not saying anything at first. “Missed you too,” she finally said into his shirt.

El pulled her head up, and the two kissed.

“Um..” Will began, “Should I leave, or…”

Mike blushed as he and El pulled away, forgetting his friend was there. Eleven wiped the few tears from her eyes.

“Hey, Will,” Mike said.

“Hey yourself.”

“You can stay,” Mike said, his hand finding El’s.

Will shook his head. “I’ll give you guys some space.” Hopping back on his bike, he turned back to the road, calling “Good to see you again!” before riding off.

Eleven looked up at Mike, a big smile on her face, happy that he was actually  _ here _ again. He turned to her, a nervous look on his face that had her slightly worried. “Mike?”

“Um, El...there was a reason I asked you to come over.”

“Okay.”

“I, uh...I told my parents about you.”

She froze. “Your mama and papa?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “And I, uh...I wanted to take you in to meet them. If that’s okay with you.”

Now El felt herself getting nervous.  _ What if they remembered her? What if they thought she was dangerous? What if they didn’t like her? _ She didn’t know if she was ready for this.

Mike, sensing her discomfort, held both her hands in his. “We don’t have to,” he clarified. “We can just...do something else, if you want. But I promise nothing bad will happen. I told them your name is Jane, and that you were adopted by Hopper. That’s all.” She still looked hesitant, so he said “We can just go back to Will’s if you want. I don’t want to force you.”

El took a deep breath, and looked up at the house that had been her  _ real _ first home. “Why did you tell them?” she asked.

Mike shrugged. “Because you’re my girlfriend, El. You’re important to me, and I want them to know about you. And I figure it’s only a matter of time before they come down into the basement and see you, anyway.” He paused. “But really, if you don’t want to, we…”

“I want to,” she said, cutting him off.

“You’re sure?”

She nodded. “Promise.”

Mike smiled, and kissed her forehead. “Okay. But...if you get nervous or anything, just...let me know, and we can go somewhere else, okay?”

“Okay.”

So, hand-in-hand, the two made their way to the front door. Opening the front door, Mike called “Mom? Dad?”

There were footsteps, and then a moment later, Mike’s parents were before them. El squeezed Mike’s hand nervously.

“This,” Mike said to his parents, “This is Jane. She’s my girlfriend.”

Mike’s mom smiled. “It’s so nice to meet you, sweetie. Mike has told us so much about you.”

Eleven ducked her head nervously before saying “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“You two come into the kitchen,” Karen said. “I made sandwiches.”

The two adults walked off, and Mike turned to El once they were alone. “Are you okay?” She nodded, but Mike could see she was nervous. “You sure?”

She smiled. “Promise.” Holding his face, she gave him a quick peck. “Thank you for….” She thought of the word, “Introducing me.”

Mike’s cheeks pinkened slightly. “Of course.”

“Mike? Are you guys coming?” his mom called.

“Yeah, mom! We’ll be right there!” he called back. He glanced at El, and she gave him a nod. Squeezing her hand, he led her into the next room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading.


End file.
